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AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

VTKW  YORK    •    BOSTON  •    CHICAGO  •    DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •    SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

IX>NDON  •    BOMBAY  •   CALCOTTA 
MKLBOURNK 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TOKONTO 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL 
IDEAS 

STUDIES  IN  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 

AMERICAN    POLITICAL    THOUGHT 

1865-1917 


BY 

CHARLES  EDWARD  MERRIAM,  Ph.D. 

Professor  of  Political  Science,  University  of  Ctiicago 


Jil3eto  gorfe 
THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1920 


All  right*  reterved 


COPTBIGHT,  1920, 

bt  the  macmillan  company 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  September,  1920. 


TO 

THE  MEMORY  OF 

MY  MOTHER 


PREFACE 

In  1903,  the  writer  presented  "  A  History  of  American 
Political  Theories."  That  study,  with  the  exception  of 
one  chapter  on  "  Recent  Tendencies,"  dealt  with  the 
development  of  political  thought  down  to  the  Civil  War. 
The  present  volume  is  an  attempt  to  outline  some  of  the 
chief  tendencies  in  our  fundamental  political  thinking 
from  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  to  the  beginning  of  the 
American  participation  in  the  recent  war.  The  purpose 
of  the  writer  is  to  trace  the  broad  currents  of  American 
political  thought  in  their  relation  to  the  social,  economic 
and  political  tendencies  of  the  time.  Sometimes  these 
ideas  have  been  best  expressed  in  political  institutions; 
sometimes  in  laws,  judicial  decisions,  administration, 
or  customs;  again,  in  the  utterances  of  statesmen  and 
publicists  or  leaders  of  various  causes ;  sometimes  by  the 
formal  statements  of  the  systematic  philosophers.  This 
study  traces  the  main  lines,  the  typical  forms  of  political 
ideas,  in  their  relation  to  each  other  and  to  the  conditions 
out  of  which  they  grew.  Some  of  these  doctrines  are 
thinly  disguised  pleas  for  group  interests ;  others  are  parts 
of  the  great  process  by  which  the  experience  and  counsel 
of  the  leaders,  statesmen  and  sages  are  woven  into  the 
web  of  social  and  |)olitical  control;  others  are  relatively 
impartial  and  technical  studies  of  social  or  political 
science.     All   are   indirectly    parts    of    the   progressive 


PREFACE 

adaptation  of  democratic  ideas  to  new  economic  and  social 
conditions. 

This  study  is  the  outgrowth  of  investigations  begun  in 
the  Seminar  on  American  political  philosophy  given  by 
Professor  Dunning,  in  Columbia  University,  1896-97, 
and  the  writer  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  deep  sense  of 
obligation  for  the  inspiration  then  given,  and  for  subse- 
quent encouragement  in  the  prosecution  of  this  work.  I 
am  also  indebted  to  my  colleagues,  Professors  Freund, 
Small,  and  Dodd  for  counsel  and  help ;  and  particularly  to 
Mr.  Harold  F.  Gosnell,  Fellow  in  the  Department  of  Po- 
litical Science  in  the  University  of  Chicago,  for  aid  in 
the  reading  of  proof. 

Charles  Edward  Merriam. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  Background  of  American  Political  Thought     .       i 

II  Typical  Interpretations  of  Democracy      •     •     •     35 

III  The  Consent  of  the  Governed 71 

IV  Legislative  and  Executive  Powers 107 

V    The  Courts  and  Justice 145 

VI  Responsibility  of  Judges  to  the  Democracy  .     .   187 

VII  Democracy  and  Constitutional  Change    .     .     .  212 

VIII  The  Unit  of  Democratic  Organization      .     .     .  228 

IX  Internationalism  —  Pacifism  —  Militarism    .     .  250 

X  The  Political  Party  and  Unofficial  Government  269 

XI     Government  and  Liberty 310 

XII  Government  and  Liberty  (Continued)       .     .     .  343 

XIII  Systematic  Studies  of  Politics 370 

XIV  Political  Ideas  in  American  Literature  .     .     .  432 
XV    Summary 450 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE   BACKGROUND   OF   AMERICAN    POLITICAL   THOUGHT 

It  is  important  at  the  outset  to  sketch  briefly  the  funda- 
mental conditions  under  which  the  American  poHtical 
thinking  of  the  last  half -century  has  been  carried  on  —  to 
inquire  into  the  outstanding  factors  of  our  growth  since 
the  Civil  War,  What  are  the  new  conditions  out  of 
which  new  political  interpretations  are  shaped  or  new 
ideas  have  sprung?  What  are  the  new  forces  that  have 
led  men  to  frame  new  formulas,  and  new  philosophies  ?  * 

The  nineteenth  century  was  full  of  new  political  forces 
and  forms.  Individualism  of  the  eighteenth-century  type 
deepened  into  the  nineteenth-century  laissez  faire,  and  still 

1  This  period  is  reviewed  in  Hart's  "  American  Nation  Series," 
Group  V,  vols.  22-26,  and  in  "  the  Yale  Chronicles  of  America  "  series, 
particularly  in  the  volumes  by  Fish,  Ford  and  Hendricks ;  in  James 
Rhodes'  "  History  of  the  United  States."  See  also  Beard's  Con- 
temporary American  History";  Frederic  L.  Paxson,  "The  New 
Nation,"  1915.  See  also  F.  A.  Cleveland,  "  The  Growth  of  Democ- 
racy in  the  United  States,"  1898;  Henry  Jones  Ford,  "The  Rise 
and  Growth  of  American  Politics,"  1898 ;  C.  E.  Merriam,  "  History 
of  American  Political  Theories,"  1903 ;  Albert  Bushnell  Hart,  "  Na- 
tional Ideals  Historically  Traced,"  1907;  James  Schouler,  "Ideals 
of  the  Republic,"  1908;  E.  D.  Adams,  "The  Power  of  Ideals  in 
American  History,"  1913. 

I 


2  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

further  developed  into  the  unanticipated  doctrines  of 
philosophical  anarchism.  Democracy,  the  revolutionary 
ferment  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  took 
the  new  form  of  Liberalism  in  its  varying  shades,  and  at 
times  passed  over  into  the  garb  of  Collectivism  and  of 
Socialism.  About  the  mid-century  Nationalism  appeared 
as  a  distinct  political  doctrine,  on  the  basis  of  which  were 
made  states  of  the  type  of  America,  Italy  and  Germany, 
while  many  smaller  nationalities  lifted  up  their  heads. 
With  the  expansion  of  European  powers,  rose  the  familiar 
figure  of  Imperialism,  and  with  the  rapid  expansion  of 
transportation  and  communication,  Internationalism  ap- 
peared on  the  horizon  of  the  national  state.  Democracy, 
representative  government,  constitutionalism,  universal 
suffrage,  developed  in  the  Orient  as  well  as  in  the  Occi- 
dent. But  there  also  arose  a  new  Aristocracy  clothed  in 
forms  appropriate  to  modern  life  and  philosophy;  now  in 
the  garb  of  the  divine  right  of  the  industrial  aristocracy, 
the  precedence  of  the  captain  of  industry.  And  again  in 
the  amazing  combination  of  the  throne  and  modern  indus- 
trialism seen  in  the  German  state,  militarism  appeared 
equipped  with  all  the  devices  of  modern  science  and 
philosophy,  and  with  all  the  weapons  of  a  modern  me- 
chanical age.  On  the  other  hand  came  the  opposing  theo- 
ries of  organized  Pacifism,  speaking  through  great  philos- 
ophers and  prophets  of  every  state. 

Old  formulas  of  freedom  were  used  for  the  defence  of 
new  and  strange  causes  by  unfamiliar  hands.  New  for- 
mulas were  created  for  the  defence  of  what  were  really 
old  causes.  Individualism,  anarchy,  socialism,  imperial- 
ism, militarism  and  pacifism,  democracy  and  aristocracy, 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  3 

were  all  swept  into  the  current  along  with  the  new-found 
forces  of  industrialism,  education,  science,  feminism  and 
urbanism,  with  all  their  long  train  of  implications  and 
complications.  Never  was  there  a  time  of  greater  fer- 
ment in  the  thoughts  of  men,  of  sharper  paradox,  of  more 
mystifying  confusion  in  the  use  of  terms  and  formulas, 
presumably  well  understood  and  established.  All  the  new 
political  doctrines  and  dogmas  invoked  in  turn  the  support 
of  history,  science  and  statistics,  psychology  and  philoso- 
phy, to  sanction  their  new  propaganda  of  attack  or 
defence. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  in  the  wide  range  of 
philosophy  and  politics  of  the  century  was  the  develop- 
ment of  Liberalism  to  meet  the  new  conditions  of  human 
life.^  The  transition  from  political  to  industrial  liberal- 
ism was  one  of  the  central  features  of  the  age,  shattering 
political  parties,  shaking  the  foundations  of  the  state,  and 
breaking  up  political  philosophies.  In  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth,  and  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, the  forces  of  Democracy  were  directed  against  polit- 
ical Absolutism,  against  the  rule  of  arbitrary  personal 
power,  against  entrenched  political  privilege,  against  in- 
stitutionalized political  inequality.  Democracy  battled 
for  representation,  first  for  the  right  to  be  heard,  and  then 
for  the  right  to  be  obeyed  under  parliamentary  govern- 
ment. Democracy  contended  for  equality  before  the  law, 
as  against  systems  of  institutionalized  inequality  and 
privilege;    for    constitutions,    written    or    unwritten,    as 

2  W.  A.  Dunning,  "  A  Century  of  Politics,"  North  American  Re- 
view, 179,  801-14;  "History  of  Political  Theories,"  Vol.  Ill;  E. 
Barker,  "  Political  Thought  in  England  " ;  C.  Delisle  Burns,  "  Political 
Ideals." 


4  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

solemn  guarantees  of  a  general  understanding  of  a  public 
policy  regarding  the  fundamentals  of  public  life.  This 
was  the  great  struggle  carried  on  in  England,  America, 
and  France,  and  throughout  the  continent,  though  not 
everywhere  with  uniform  success. 

In  the  later  stages  there  was  a  struggle  for  more  perfect 
recognition  of  the  principles  of  democracy,  nowhere  yet 
completely  carried  out  to  their  fullest  extent.  There 
followed  great  battles,  bloodless  battles  as  a  rule,  for 
broader  suffrage,  for  more  nearly  equal  representation, 
for  more  complete  control  over  the  acts  and  agencies  of 
government,  for  a  closer  hold  on  legislation,  administra- 
tion, and  on  the  judgments  of  the  courts,  if  these  ran 
contrary  to  popular  will.  Thus  England  had  its  great 
contests  over  reform  in  the  House  of  Commons,  over 
Chartism,  over  extension  of  the  right  to  vote,  over  the 
veto  power  of  the  House  of  Lords.  America  had  its 
battles  to  widen  the  circle  of  the  land-owner  and  the  tax- 
payer, over  the  abolition  of  the  status  of  slavery,  over  the 
gradual  extension  of  the  principle  of  democratic  control 
through  the  governmental  system. 

Toward  the  mid-century,  however,  Liberalism  and 
Democracy  came  face  to  face  with  a  new  set  of  problems 
dividing  the  forces  that  had  been  united  and  requiring 
extensive  realignment  upon  many  fronts.  Sometimes 
Conservatives  became  Liberals,  and  Liberals  in  many  in- 
stances became  Conservatives.  In  the  politics  and  phil- 
osophy of  all  coimtries  significant  and  far-reaching  re- 
adjustments were  made  under  the  stress  of  new  situations. 
The  new  problem  was  the  interpretation  of  the  formulas 
and  the  ideals  of  the  historic  democracy  in  terms  of  the 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  5 

new  social  and  industrial  conditions  appearing  in  the 
nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries.  It  was  agreed  that 
democracy  meant  the  abolition  of  political  absolutism  and 
all  forms  of  political  privilege,  and  the  setting  up  of  some 
form  of  parliamentary  and  responsible  government.  But 
beyond  that  there  was  the  problem  of  the  significance  of 
democracy  under  the  new  conditions  that  had  sprung  up  in 
the  modern  state,  around  the  factory,  in  industrial  life, 
transformed  as  it  was  by  new  organizations  of  capital, 
credit,  labor  and  mechanics.  What  did  democracy  mean 
in  the  days  of  the  union,  the  railroad,  the  trust  and  of 
modern  business  organization?  After  popular  sover- 
eignty had  been  fully  established,  what  was  to  be  the 
theoretical  and  practical  program  of  democracy?  What 
should  be  the  social  and  industrial  function  of  the  people's 
government  under  the  new  regime  ?  What  should  be  the 
interpretation  of  liberty  and  equality  in  the  midst  of 
these  new  and  strange  social  forces  ?  What  should  be  the 
conception  of  political  and  social  justice  in  the  midst  of  an 
environment  without  precedent?  Should  the  democracy 
adopt  a  policy  of  indifference  —  an  attitude  of  laissez- 
faire  toward  the  struggles  of  its  citizens,  leaving  to  a 
beneficent  competition  the  ultimate  solution  of  all  dif- 
ficulties ?  Or  should  democracy  press  on  and  establish  a' 
complete  co-operative  commonwealth  in  the  industrial 
sense  of  the  term?  Or  should  the  democracy  endeavor 
to  find  some  middle  ground  between  unrestrained  in- 
dividualism and  all-inclusive  collectivism?  These  were 
the  overshadowing  problems  of  the  last  half -century. 
They  were  not  confined  to  any  latitude  or  longitude  — 
they  were  the  common  property  of  all  the  great  industrial 


6  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

states  of  the  western  world.^  They  taxed  the  ingenuity 
of  statesmen,  the  precedents  of  jurists,  and  the  subtleties 
of  philosophy,  wherever  the  new  democracy  came  in  con- 
tact with  the  new  life  conditions  thrust  forward  by  the 
vigorous  social  and  economic  forces  of  our  time. 

Democracy  was  challenged  and  attacked  by  thinkers  of 
various  schools.  Sir  Henry  Maine  *  criticized  the  assump- 
tions of  democracy,  while  Lecky  ^  questioned  the  funda- 
mental connection  between  democracy  and  liberty.  The 
German  writers  developed  varying  theories  justifying 
monarchical  government,  and  sharply  criticized  the  prac- 
tical operations  of  democratic  government.  Nietzsche's 
doctrines  were  the  nearest  approach  to  a  political  theory 
of  aristocracy,  and  they  were  widely  influential,  particu- 
larly in  the  German  circles.  Socialism  challenged  the 
results  thus  far  obtained  by  democracy  under  modern 
conditions.  Syndicalism  ^  and  Anarchism  '^  openly  de- 
nied the  validity  of  the  democratic  system. 

One  of  the  outstanding  theoretical  features  of  the  time 
was  the  concerted  assault  made  from  many  different  quar- 
ters upon  militarism.  Of  all  the  numerous  and  varied 
attacks  upon  war  by  far  the  most  notable  was  that  of 
Count  Tolstoi,  who  both  in  philosophy  and  in  fiction  de- 
veloped the  pacifist  doctrines  in  widely  influential  fashion. 
Tolstoi  and  Nietzsche  in  fact  stand  as  the  two  opposite 
poles  in  the  theory  of  the  time  —  one  reflecting  the  influ- 

3  L.  T.  Hobhouse,  "  Liberalism,"  especially  Ch.  VI,  on  the  "  Heart 
of  Liberalism."    John  A.  Hobson,  "  The  Crisis  of  Liberalism." 

4  "  Popular  Government." 

5  "  Democracy  and  Liberty." 

«P.  F.  Brissenden,  "The  L  W.  W." 
'^ Zenker,  "Anarchism." 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  7 

ence  in  philosophy  of  the  principles  of  ruthless  competi- 
tion and  the  other  an  underlying  theory  of  compassion  — 
one  elaborating  a  philosophy  of  aggression,  aristocracy 
and  militarism,  and  the  other  a  doctrine  of  non-resistance, 
communism  and  pacifism. 

While  there  was  bitter  and  protracted  controversy  be- 
tween aristocracy  and  democracy  as  forms  of  government, 
and  between  the  opposing  doctrines  of  pacifism  and  mili- 
tarism, on  the  whole  the  characteristic  feature  of  the  time 
was  the  rise  of  social  issues.  Through  the  machinery 
of  government,  industrial  and  social  questions  were  con- 
stantly thrust  forward.  Men  were  concerned  about  the 
economic  basis  of  their  life  in  relation  to  the  legal  and 
political  forms  of  government.  Democracy  was  still  a 
cherished  ideal,  but  democracy  being  assumed,  the  ques- 
tion of  its  practical  application  to  social  and  industrial 
conditions  came  to  be  of  paramount  importance.  Thus 
to  the  battle  still  raging  between  political  aristocracy  and 
democracy,  and  between  localism,  nationalism  and  inter- 
nationalism, there  was  added  the  controversy  between 
democracy  and  oligarchy  in  the  industrial  world.  As  be- 
tween nations,  the  struggle  was  one  in  which  race  played 
the  principal  role,  while  within  nations  the  contest  was 
between  classes  for  economic  and  political  power.  So  it 
happened  that  both  race  and  class  fought,  sometimes  to- 
gether and  sometimes  against  each  other,  for  authority, 
for  moral,  legal  and  political  justification  of  their  position, 
for  political  ideals  and  for  political  institutions  expressing 
these  ideals.  Nationalism  and  socialism  were  the  most 
significant  factors  of  the  time,  struggling  with  the  cross- 
currents of  democracy  and  aristocracy,  militarism  and 


8  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

pacifism  for  domination.  As  the  issues  were  variously- 
defined  from  time  to  time,  classes  and  races  fell  upon  one 
side  or  the  other  of  the  line.  Toward  the  end  of  the 
period  aristocracy  tended  to  retreat  before  political 
democracy,  yet  at  the  very  close  of  the  period  aristocracy 
gathered  its  forces  for  a  powerful  effort.  Likewise  mil- 
itarism retreated  before  the  pacifist  forces  of  the  time,  yet 
militarism  also  rallied  for  a  gigantic  effort  at  the  end  of 
this  era.  The  forces  of  industrial  democracy  fighting  as 
Socialism  or  Liberalism  made  rapid  progress  in  institu- 
tions and  in  theories,  but  the  structure  of  economic  society 
remained  distinctly  aristocratic  and  the  theory  of  the  time 
was  divided  between  the  upholders  of  the  old  regime  and 
various  types  of  radical  and  moderate  opponents. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  time  was 
the  contest  between  capital  and  labor  for  the  possession  of 
the  institutions  and  the  theories  of  democracy.  Capital- 
ism strove  to  appear  as  the  defender  of  individual  liberty 
and  the  guardian  of  democratic  doctrines,  using  for  this 
purpose  the  narrower  and  more  technical  legal  and  polit- 
ical arguments,  charging  its  opponents  with  betrayal  of 
the  individual,  with  disregard  of  democracy,  and  designs 
ultimately  leading  to  practical  slavery  under  a  socialistic 
regime.  On  the  other  hand,  the  influences  working  for 
industrial  democracy  charged  capitalism  with  the  betrayal 
of  representative  institutions  through  corruption  and 
undue  influence,  with  adroit  attempts  to  turn  the  defenses 
of  liberty  into  the  safeguards  of  oppression,  with  inten- 
tion to  preserve  and  maintain  oligarchic  and  autocratic 
interests  under  the  guise  of  democratic  institutions.     The 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  9 

capitalistic  strategists  strove  to  maneuver  the  opposition 
into  a  position  where  it  must  abandon  the  doctrine  of 
liberty  or  even  democracy,  while  the  progressive  influences 
relying  less  upon  technical  and  legal  anguments,  undertook 
to  show  that  actually  and  practically  capitalism  and 
plutocracy  were  controlling  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  men 
through  ingenious  interpretations  of  outgrown  laws. 
Both  were  in  turn  obliged  to  yield  to  the  demands  of 
Nationalism,  when  the  nation  spoke,  or  the  middle  class 
when  fully  aroused. 

Some  of  the  great  social  changes  underlying  these  de- 
veloping ideas  were  common  to  the  world,  but  some  were 
peculiar  to  America.  A  brief  survey  of  the  situation 
will  indicate  the  most  significant  forces  affecting  the 
growth  and  form  of  American  political  thought.  The 
foremost  of  the  fundamental  social  changes  wrought  by 
a  half-century  is  the  mass-fact  of  the  rapid  expansion  of 
population.  During  the  first  years  of  our  Republic,  a 
vast  territorial  domain  had  been  acquired,  but  this  wide- 
reaching  territory  had  not  been  peopled.  During  the 
last  half-century  the  range  of  territory  stretching  from 
Atlantic  to  Pacific  was  settled.  Wave  after  wave  of 
migration  swept  to  the  West,  across  the  Mississippi,  over 
the  Missouri,  beyond  the  mountains,  along  the  coast,  until 
finally  the  frontier  disappeared.  We  must  now  reckon 
also  with  the  over-seas  dependencies,  Porto  Rico,  Hawaii 
and  the  Philippine  Islands.  In  1870  the  population  of  the 
United  States  was  less  than  40,000,000;  by  191 7  it  was 
approximately  100,000,000.  The  addition  of  these  mul- 
titudes and  the  shifting  of  this  population  from  one  section 


lo  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

to  another,  particularly  from  the  east  to  the  west,  was 
one  of  the  significant  features  in  the  development  of  our 
Republic  during  the  last  fifty  years. 

Equally  notable  was  the  amazing  concentration  of 
population  in  great  urban  centers.  This  phenomenon 
was  common  to  all  the  great  industrial  states  of  the  world, 
but  nowhere  was  it  more  pronounced  than  in  America. 
In  1870  the  urban  population  was  twenty-one  per  cent,  of 
the  total;  by  19 17  approximately  fifty  per  cent,  of  the 
population  was  found  in  urban  centers.  In  many  of  the 
states  more  than  one-half  of  the  entire  population  had 
become  urban. *  In  the  last  fifty  years  the  United  States 
ceased  to  be  a  rural  democracy,  and  was  transformed  into 
a  half-rural,  half -urban  Republic.  In  this  process  funda- 
mental changes  were  made  in  the  Hfe  and  labor  of  men. 
In  their  housing  conditions,  in  their  working  surround- 
ings, in  their  facilities  for  leisure,  and  in  many  other  ways 
far-reaching  changes  in  human  life  were  made.  Not  only 
were  readjustments  necessary  within  the  city  itself,  but 
under  the  new  conditions  reconciliations  of  the  ideals  of 
the  urban  and  rural  communities  were  distinct  features  in 
the  nation's  life.  The  early  prophets  and  statesmen  of 
the  Republic  had  thought  of  democracy  as  agrarian  in  its 
composition  and  rural  in  its  tendencies,  but  by  the  end  of 
the  century  the  rush  of  population  to  great  urban  centers 
had  changed  in  great  part  this  portion  of  the  foundations 
upon  which  the  earlier  philosophies  had  rested. 

8  In  Rhode  Island  96.7  per  cent,  of  the  population  was  urban  in 
1910;  in  Massachusetts  92.8  per  cent.;  in  Connecticut  89.7  per  cent.; 
in  New  York  78.8  per  cent. ;  in  New  Jersey  75.2  per  cent. ;  in  Illinois 
61.7  per  cent;  and  in  Pennsylvania  60.4  per  cent. 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT-  II 

During  the  last  half -century  the  composition  of  the 
population  underwent  a  fundamental  change.  The  immi- 
gration movement  had  begun  before  the  Civil  War,  par- 
ticularly after  the  Irish  potato  famine  in  1840,  and  the 
German  revolution  in  1848,  but  the  full  tide  of  immigra- 
tion did  not  begin  until  after  the  Civil  War,  In  1851-60, 
the  immigrants  numbered  2,598,214.  In  1861-70  they 
numbered  2,314,824;  in  1871-80,  2,812,191;  in  1881-90, 
5,246,613;  in  1891-1900,  3,687,564;  in  1901-10,  8,795,- 
386.  From  1820  to  1910,  the  total  immigration  was  2y,- 
918,992.  By  1 910  the  total  foreign  born  population  of 
the  United  States  was  13,000,000,  while  the  population 
of  foreign  parentage  was  approximately  20,000,000 
more. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  period  the  immigration  came 
largely  from  England,  Ireland,  Germany  and  the  Scan- 
dinavian countries.  In  the  later  part  of  the  period  the 
great  proportion  of  those  who  entered  were  from  Italy, 
Austria  and  Russia,  introducing  a  variation  in  race  ele- 
ments. Furthermore,  the  new  population  manifested  a 
strong  tendency  to  center  in  the  urban  communities,  in 
even  larger  .percentages  than  the  native  born  population. 
Thus,  heterogeneity  of  population  appears  as  one  of  the 
striking  factors  in  the  development  of  the  United  States 
since  the  Civil  War. 

This  period  was  characterized  by  material  prosperity 
on  a  vast  scale.®  The  wealth  of  the  country  increased  by 
leaps  and  bounds.  Agriculture  and  trade  expanded  at  a 
marvelous  rate  in  almost  every  portion  of  the  nation. 

» H.   C.   Emery,   "  Economic   Development  of  United   States "   in 
"  Cambridge  Modern  History,"  VII,  Ch.  22. 


12  *     AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Manufacturing  in  particular  developed  at  a  pace  never 
before  known.  This  was  particularly  true  of  the  north- 
ern section  at  the  outset  of  the  period,  but  in  the  south  as 
well  during  the  latter  part  of  it.  Roughly  speaking,  it 
may  be  said  that  during  the  first  generation  of  our  history 
the  republic  was  characteristically  an  agricultural  state. 
During  the  next  stage  of  our  growth  the  power  was 
divided  between  the  agricultural  and  commercial  interests. 
Following  the  Civil  War  the  balance  definitely  inclined 
toward  the  predominance  of  trade,  while  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  period  the  wage- worker  appeared  for  the  first 
time  as  an  organized  and  formidable  factor.  During  the 
last  part  of  the  century  the  great  national  economic  forces 
were  those  of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  labor.  Their 
influence  upon  the  party  politics  and  the  political  phil- 
osophy of  the  time  is  one  of  the  fundamental  points  in  any 
discussion  of  this  period.  Their  inter-relationship  is  one 
of  the  keys  to  the  comprehension  of  our  national  phil- 
osophy, explaining  many  phenomena  otherwise  inex- 
plicable. 

Another  of  the  striking  social  characteristics  of  this 
period  was  the  growth  of  great  individual  fortunes.^** 
Some  of  these  large  aggregations  were  the  result  of  in- 
creases in  land  value,  particularly  in  the  urban  centers, 
but  in  the  main  they  were  the  outgrowth  of  activities 
directed  through  the  corporation  or  "  trust,"  in  such  cases, 
as  oil,  steel,  lumber,  railroads  and  other  conspicuous  illus- 
trations. Banking  and  stock  exchange  speculation  also 
added  to  the  list.     The  report  of  the  Federal  Industrial 

10  See  Anna  Youngman,  "  The  Economic  Causes  of  Great  For- 
tunes " ;  also  G.  Myers,  "  History  of  the  Great  American  Fortunes." 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  13 

Relations  Commission  appointed  in  19 13  presented  the 
following  conclusions  regarding  the  distribution  of 
wealth :  The  "  rich,"  including  2  per  cent,  of  the  people, 
own  60  per  cent,  of  the  wealth ;  the  "  middle  class,"  33 
per  cent,  of  the  people,  own  35  per  cent,  of  the  wealth ; 
the  poor,  65  per  cent,  of  the  people,  own  5  per  cent,  of  the 
wealth.  ^^  The  tendency  to  concentrate  vast  wealth  in  the 
hands  of  a  few  corporations  and  relatively  few  owners, 
was  marked  by  all  observers  and  constituted  one  of  the 
basic  movements  of  the  time.  It  profoundly  affected  the 
assumptions  both  of  the  many  and  of  the  few,  and  forced 
substantial  modifications  of  theoretical  belief  and  of  prac- 
tical policy  as  well. 

In  addition  to  these  fundamental  tendencies,  the  expan- 
sion of  population,  diversification  of  types  and  concentra- 
tion of  settlement,  there  emerged  from  *he  general 
struggle  deeply  significant  types  of  organized  activity. 
These  new  groupings  became  active  forces  in  the  social, 
economic  and  political  life  of  the  nation.  On  the  one 
side,  there  appeared  an  unparalleled  concentration  of  ac- 
tivity in  corporate  form ;  on  the  other,  the  unprecedented 
concentration  of  labor  in  the  trades  unions.  Prior  to  the 
Civil  War  the  corporation  was  not  unknown,  but  as  an 
effective  instrument  of  business  it  was  little  known. ^^ 
Following  the  War,  however,  this  form  of  industrial  or- 
ganization developed  at  an  astonishing  rate.  The  public 
utility  in  the  city,  the  railroad  in  the  state  and  nation,  and 

11  See  "  Report  of  Industrial  Relations  Commission,"  Vol.  I,  p.  22i- 
See  also,  Willford  I.  King,  "The  Wealth  and  Income  of  the  People 
of  the  United  States." 

12  See  Victor  S.  Clark,  "  History  of  Manufactures  in  the  United 
States." 


14  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

other  large  combinations  in  the  industrial  world,  appeared 
with  startling  rapidity.  Steel,  sugar,  oil,  whiskey,  lum- 
ber, coal,  and  a  hundred  other  products  were  organized  in 
large  corporate  form.  Out  of  the  ordinary  corporation, 
in  the  course  of  time  came  the  trust,  the  holding  com- 
pany, the  combination  of  corporations,  in  doubly  con- 
centrated form.  The  growth  of  these  gigantic  organiza- 
tions constitutes  one  of  the  most  striking  features  in  the 
development  of  American  life.  Into  their  hands  flowed 
the  control  of  billions  of  money,  and  the  employment  of 
millions  of  men.  With  their  growth  and  activities  there 
came  an  inevitable  series  of  legal  and  political  problems 
which  demanded  the  attention  of  the  lawyer,  the  states- 
man, the  economist  and  the  philosopher. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  trades  u-nion  developed  for- 
midable power  simultaneously  with  the  corporation.  Not 
unknown  before  the  War,  but  practically  regarded  as  an 
outlaw,  the  labor  union  had  been  unable  to  make  percep- 
tible headway.  It  was  only  after  the  Civil  War  that  laws 
against  combinations  of  labor  were  repealed  and  that  the 
trades  union  obtained  a  definite  legal  poeition  from  which 
its  efforts  might  be  directed.  In  1881  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor  was  organized,  and  this  organization, 
with  its  various  subsidiary  and  collateral  branches,  ex- 
panded at  a  rapid  rate,  until  in  19 10  it  reached  a  member- 
ship estimated  at  three  million.  The  individual  laborer 
in  many  states  no  longer  stood  alone;  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  his  fellows,  organized,  equipped  and  led  to 
vigorous  industrial  battle.  As  in  the  case  of  the  corpora- 
tion and  the  holding  company,  here  was  a  new-comer  in 
the  national  field,  requiring  readjustments  of  fundamental 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  1$ 

political  presupposition-changes  in  law  and  in  custom. 
In  the  midst  of  the  labor  struggle  legal  and  political 
theories  often  melted  like  wax,  and  were  as  easily  molded. 

Our  political  and  industrial  development  has  carried  us 
far  from  our  earlier  views.  In  the  trial  of  the  journey- 
man boot  and  shoe  makers  in  1806  for  criminal  conspir- 
acy, based  on  their  organization  to  increase  their  wages, 
the  court  said :  "  A  combination  of  working  men  to 
raise  their  wages  may  be  considered  in  a  two-fold  point 
of  view  —  one  is  to  benefit  themselves,  the  other  is  to 
injure  those  who  do  not  join  their  society.  The  rule  of 
law  condemns  both."  ^^ 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Philadelphia  mechanics  of  the 
Vulcan  Iron  Works  petitioned  the  Legislature  as  follows, 
in  1826 :  "  The  grant  of  particular  privileges  to  any 
body  of  men  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  business  be- 
yond the  reach  of  individual  enterprise  operates  most  un- 
justly upon  those  individuals  who  upon  their  own 
responsibility  and  without  legislative  aid  are  engaged  in 
the  same  pursuits."  This  they  used  against  the  creation 
of  corporations.^* 

In  the  field  of  agriculture  as  well,  large-scale  combina- 
tions were  formed,  although  not  with  the  same  coherence 
or  permanence  as  in  the  case  of  corporate  wealth,  or  of 
labor.  The  Granger  movement  in  the  early  seventies 
grew  with  miraculous  speed,  and  for  a  time  obtained  great 
political  power  and  industrial  prestige.     The  Farmers' 

13  Cited  by  Wright  in  "  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States." 
(p.  283.) 

1*  Cited  by  Clarke,  op.  cit.,  pp.  251,  281.  See  also  arguments  on  rela- 
tive merits  of  corporate  and  individual  enterprises,  p.  459. 


l6  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Alliance  in  the  late  eighties  also  spread  like  wildfire,  and 
for  a  time  became  a  formidable  political  party  movement, 
but  neither  possessed  the  tenacity  and  coherence  of  either 
trade  unionism  or  corporations.  At  the  very  close  of  this 
period  appeared  the  Non-Partisan  League,  an  association 
of  farmers  organized  in  party  form  for  political  action. 

Another  great  transformation  in  the  underlying  condi- 
tions of  the  time  was  the  entrance  of  women  into  industry 
and  professions.  Prior  to  the  War  their  chief  industry 
had  been  domestic  in  nature,  although  some  had  entered 
the  mills  and  participated  in  various  forms  of  commercial 
life.  After  the  Civil  War,  however,  both  trades  and  pro- 
fessions, generally  speaking,  were  gradually  opened  to 
both  sexes,  and  a  great  influx  of  women  followed.  In 
1880  the  number  of  women  engaged  in  gainful  occupa- 
tions was  two  and  a  half  million  ^^ ;  in  1910  the  number 
reached  a  total  of  8,000,000.^°  Not  only  did  women 
enter  the  activities  of  industry,  but  also  in  still  larger 
numbers  the  field  of  education.  Prior  to  the  War,  insti- 
tutions of  higher  learning  were  almost  entirely  closed  to 
women,  while  the  opportunities  of  the  common  schools 
were  not  equally  shared.  During  this  period  facilities 
for  education  have  been  opened  practically  upon  an  equiv- 
alent basis  to  both  sexes.  Education  and  economics 
combined,  then,  to  create  another  social  and  political  force 
of  fundamental  importance  requiring  new  interpretations 

15  2,647,157  or  14.7  per  cent. 

16  In  1910,  38,167,336  persons  ten  years  of  age  and  over,  were 
engaged  in  gainful  occupations  in  continental  United  States.  Of 
these,  30,091,564  were  men  and  8,075,772,  women.  See  Edith  Abbott, 
Women  in  Industry. 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  17 

and  new  adjustments  and  new  formulas  of  political  action. 

Of  fundamental  importance  in  a  consideration  of  the 
growth  and  tendencies  of  American  political  thought  is 
an  analysis  of  the  general  background,  the  hinterland,  of 
American  ideas  in  the  broadest  sense,  and  particularly  as 
they  relate  to  the  specifically  social  and  political  forces 
and  reasoning  of  the  time.  The  political  is  obviously  not 
a  thing  of  itself,  but  is  interwoven  with  all  the  strands  of 
life;  a  resultant  of  the  action  of  many  forces  and  react- 
ing upon  them  all,  directly  in  some  instances  and  remotely 
in  others.  Family,  church,  state,  business,  arts  and 
sciences,  education,  all  types  of  association  and  all  forms 
and  forces  are  bound  up  together  in  the  social  aggregate. 
What  is  "  political  "  is  a  part  of  the  social  life  and  ideals 
of  the  community,  past  and  present,  in  most  highly  con- 
centrated form.  Political  theory  is  usually  an  integral 
part  of  the  instincts,  the  ideals,  the  institutions,  the  gen- 
eral philosophy  and  point  of  view  of  the  community,  or  of 
the  dominant  influences  in  it. 

Unquestionably  the  strongest  note  in  American  life 
during  the  last  half  century  has  been  that  struck  by  what 
is  termed  "  business  " —  the  activities  of  commercial  life 
centering  around  the  new  industrial  system  of  the  time. 
In  this  the  chief  new  factor  was  the  appearance  and  leader- 
ship of  large  scale  industry.  This  has  set  the  pace  for 
American  energy  and  thought  and  has  been  the  touchstone 
by  which  the  initiation  of  social  policies  and  ideas  has  been 
tested.  What  effect  will  they  have  upon  the  growth  and 
development  of  the  system  of  pecuniary  profit,  was  the 
crucial  question  applied  to  them  all;  to  political  move- 
ments and  ideas,  to  political  parties  and  their  leaders,  to 


l8  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

every  new  effort  in  the  social  field.  Yet  back  of  this 
were  found  two  other  systems  which  from  time  to  time 
expressed  themselves  vigorously  and  effectively.  These 
were  the  ideals  and  institutions  of  the  agrarian  group  and 
those  of  the  labor  group.  The  rural  influence  had  been 
dominant  in  the  early  days  of  the  Republic  and  had 
shared  the  throne  until  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  after 
which  the  commercial  interest  was  for  the  time  predom- 
inant. But  the  agricultural  elements  were  still  powerful 
in  national  life  and  great  deference  was  paid  to  their  ideas 
of  social  policy.  This  was  in  many  instances  a  mere  lip 
service,  but  none  the  less  the  fact  that  close  attention  was 
given  to  their  demands  and  ideals  was  itself  significant. 
The  rural  group  had  an  individuality  of  its  own,  not  only 
as  distinguished  from  the  other  groups  here,  but  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  rural  group  anywhere  else  in  the 
world.  They  possessed  a  degree  of  independence,  tradi- 
tionally at  least,  that  marked  them  as  a  special  type  of  the 
agricultural  producer.  They  were  sharply  distinguished 
from  the  activities  and  the  points  of  view  of  the  strictly 
commercial  class,  and  from  the  machine  activities  of  the 
laboring  class.^^ 

On  the  one  hand  his  ownership  of  property  and  his 
relations  to  labor  or  "  help "  tended  to  identify  the 
farmer  with  the  commercial  group,  but  on  the  other  hand, 
his  exploitation  by  monopoly  in  various  forms  tended  to 
align  him  against  the  dominant  group  of  "  business."  As 
to  the  property  rights  of  individual  landowners  he  was 

1'^  See  Mr.  Bryan's  description  of  the  "business  man"  in  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  of  1896  as  including  practically  all 
groups. 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  19 

an  individualist,  but  as  to  the  regulation  of  railroad 
monopoly  he  was  on  the  side  of  collectivism,  which  he 
did  not  call  by  that  name.  As  to  his  relations  to  his  few 
employees  he  was  individualistic,  but  as  to  competition 
which  destroyed  the  small  business  and  affected  the  prices 
in  his  community  he  was  on  the  collectivist  side.  He  was 
distinctly  anti-trust,  but  by  no  means  pro-labor  union. 
He  was  not  a  friend  either  of  monopoly  or  of  strikes. 
The  agrarian  influence  was  a  powerful  one,  not  only  by 
reason  of  the  political  strength  involved  in  its  action,  but 
by  virtue  of  the  survival  of  agrarian  tradition  in  the 
minds  of  the  large  numbers  of  the  business  and  labor 
group  recruited  from  the  farming  class,  and  unable  to 
free  themselves  wholly  from  the  traditional  point  of 
view  of  the  rural  group.  Long  accustomed  to  political 
power  and  deference,  the  farming  interest  still  retained 
large  elements  of  authority  both  in  the  nation  and  in  the 
individual  units  of  political  power.  The  farming  group 
was  to  a  large  extent  free  from  the  influences  which 
characterized  the  commercial  group  on  the  one  hand  and 
the  "  machine  technology  "  of  the  laboring  class  on  the 
other,  although  influenced  more  and  more  by  both  ma- 
chinery and  by  system  as  the  end  of  this  period  ap- 
proached. There  were  also  evidences  of  a  growing  di- 
vision between  conservative  and  liberal  groups  of 
farmers. 

Associated  with  the  farming  group  were  the  smaller 
merchants  and  the  considerable  group  of  persons  em- 
ployed, but  not  organized,  and  the  bulk  of  the  various 
professions.  Taken  together,  they  constituted  the  middle 
class  in  America,  a  shifting,  not  always  clearly  defined 


20  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

group,  ill  organized,  but  nevertheless  traditionally  and 
actually  powerful.  Its  membership  constantly  tended  to- 
ward the  ranks  of  labor  or  of  capital.  Many  of  them 
were  both  laborer  and  capitalist.  Their  ideas  of  law,  jus- 
tice, equality,  liberty  were  an  important  factor  in  the  de- 
termination of  the  final  result.  They  were  on  the  whole 
on  the  side  of  individualism  as  against  socialism,  and 
democracy  as  against  plutocracy;  and  on  the  side  of  col- 
lectivism where  necessary  to  curb  monopoly  or  unfair  com- 
petition as  they  conceived  it;  but  not  for  the  type  of  col- 
lectivism implied  in  the  labor  theory  and  ideal  of  industry 
administered  by  the  standardized  union  association  of 
men,  in  which  all  stood  upon  the  same  level  of  production 
and  compensation  regardless  of  individual  diflferences  in 
capacity.  They  were  for  a  progressive  income  tax,  but 
not  for  a  single  tax  on  land ;  for  an  inheritance  tax  to 
prevent  swollen  fortunes,  but  not  for  common  ownership 
of  capital. 

The  development  of  the  labor  group  in  the  United 
States  is  of  deep  significance.  Interwoven  closely  with 
it  are  the  factors  of  urbanism  and  industrialism.  After 
the  Civil  War  manufacturing  advanced  at  a  rapid  rate 
and  increasingly  larger  numbers  of  men  were  employed  in 
new  types  of  industry  under  altogether  novel  conditions. 
The  large  scale  industry,  the  "  machine  technology,"  the 
dominance  of  the  tool  over  the  man,  the  startling  develop- 
ments of  the  new  urban  conditions,  child  labor  and  the 
labor  of  women  revolutionized  the  conditions  of  life  for 
thousands  of  human  beings,  who  were  suddenly  brought 
face  to  face  with  situations  of  the  most  puzzling  variety 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  21 

and  complexity.  Conditions  of  life  and  labor  were 
turned  upside  down.  The  ways  of  life  were  altered  in  a 
few  years,  while  the  ways  of  thought  and  the  types  of 
organization  followed  far  in  the  rear.  There  developed 
new  standards,  new  norms  of  conduct,  new  demands,  new 
philosophies  to  match  these  new  environments.  And  all 
the  while  the  movement  of  many  of  the  more  energetic 
and  the  more  intelligent  to  other  groups  was  depleting  the 
ranks  of  those  who  were  left  behind. 

The  machine  process  made  the  man  no  longer  the  mas- 
ter of  his  tool.  It  brought  the  new  and  often  impersonal 
master  who  remained  unseen,  the  true  invisible  govern- 
ment of  the  industrial  world.  It  took  away  the  oppor- 
tunity for  the  exercise  of  the  trader's  ordinary  powers  of 
bargain  and  dicker,  so  far  as  the  individual  was  concerned. 
It  took  away  from  many  the  creative  opportunity  and 
instinct  of  the  earlier  handicrafts,  and  of  the  rural  group 
even  now.  Men  under  these  conditions  were  thrown  at 
first  on  the  mercy  of  the  employer,  who  was  himself  sub- 
ject to  the  most  vigorous  and  often  the  most  unfair  com- 
petition ;  or  upon  their  own  unorganized  resources.  Out 
of  this  situation  came  the  union  and  the  principle  of 
collective  bargaining,  the  standardization  of  the  condition 
and  rewards  of  labor  for  large  groups  of  men,  and  the 
bitter  process  of  struggle  for  the  right  to  organize  and  the 
right  to  act  under  new  conditions.  The  outstanding  fea- 
tures of  this  situation  was  the  development  of  new  centers 
of  economic  and  political  power  in  the  unions,  the  aban- 
donment of  unlimited  individual  enterprise  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  fraternal  and  collective  idea  that  all  go  up 


22  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

or  down  together  within  the  Hmits  of  the  organization, 
the  subtle  influences  of  the  machine  technology  upon  the 
underlying  type  and  mode  of  philosophy,  the  substitution 
of  a  more  matter  of  fact  philosophy  for  the  earher 
theories  of  the  conventional  and  the  authoritative. 

The  far-reaching  influence  of  this  new  situation  upon 
ideas  of  social  justice,  equality,  liberty,  and  democracy  can 
scarcely  be  overestimated.  It  cut  straight  across  the  path 
of  earlier  individualistic  conceptions  and  traditions.  Col- 
lectivism tended  to  dominate  the  labor  type  of  thought, 
especially  as  developed  under  urban  conditions  where 
large  groups  of  men  were  massed  together  and  where  the 
contrasts  between  poverty  and  wealth  were  most  sharply 
marked.  Relief  from  impending  regimentation  of  life 
was  sometimes  found  in  super-socialistic  and  anarchistic 
theories  of  individual  liberty  after  and  beyond  the  main- 
tenance of  human  living  standards  and  measures  neces- 
sary for  the  securing  of  industrial  democracy,  but  inev- 
itably these  ultimate  purposes  must  be  subordinated  to  the 
immediate  necessity  for  the  creation  of  a  type  of  dis- 
cipline essential  to  the  winning  of  victories  in  industrial 
warfare.  The  individual  must  be  subordinated  to  the 
group  in  sharp  contests  with  the  common  foe. 

This  new  group  was  found  arrayed  in  battle  line  in  all 
contests  where  the  issue  seemed  to  be  industrial  plutocracy 
with  the  farmer  and  the  small  business  man,  but  not 
necessarily  against  monopoly  as  such  or  against  the  gen- 
eral integration  of  economic  force  upon  which  its  allies 
looked  with  hate  and  fear.  It  was  for  many  types  of 
community  regulation  in  general,  but  not  for  the  compul- 
sory arbitration  of  strikes  or  the  requirement  of  continued 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  23 

labor  in  public  utilities  or  any  other  industries.  This  it 
identified  with  "  involuntary  servitude,"  invoking  an 
earlier  legal  concept  of  liberty,  as  had  its  competitors 
in  the  application  of  the  principle  of  freedom  of  contract, 
and  the  liberty  of  the  individual. 

From  time  to  time  the  labor  group  lost  touch  and  sym- 
pathy with  the  agrarian  and  middle  class  group  through 
the  employment  of  violence  or  corruption  in  strikes,  and 
in  the  standardization  of  the  labor  day,  conditions  of  labor 
and  compensation,  which  ran  counter  to  the  traditions  and 
present  day  practices  of  the  rural  group.  But  they  were 
fundamentally  united  in  opposition  to  the  growth  and 
establishment  of  any  system  of  industrial  oligarchy  and 
to  the  ruthless  practices  of  the  dominant  commercial 
group.  Social  philosophy  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
the  laboring  group,  but  not  the  socialist  political  propa- 
ganda. The  absence  of  fixed  classes  as  compared  with  the 
European  countries,  the  quick  and  frequent  transitions 
from  class  to  class,  the  general  mobility  of  persons  and 
property,  took  away  the  class  basis  of  solidarity  upon 
which  the  Marxian  socialism  was  founded  and  to  which 
it  owes  much  of  its  strength  abroad.  The  philosophy  and 
methods  of  the  English  trades  unions  tended  to  prevail 
as  against  the  Continental  modes  of  thought  and  organ- 
ization. Contact  with  the  soil  as  against  contact  with 
the  machine,  life  in  daily  contact  with  the  vital  forces  of 
nature  and  life  with  the  power-directed  machine,  the  rela- 
tive isolation  of  the  rural  toiler  and  the  mass  contact  of 
the  factory  employee,  unquestionably  tended  to  shape 
different  views  of  life  and  different  ways  of  thought,  but 
no  sufficient  analysis  has  been  made  of  these  fundamental 


24  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

changes ;  and  perhaps  sufficient  time  has  not  yet  elapsed 
to  make  this  study  possible  or  to  indicate  clear  lines  of 
differentiation,  particularly  in  a  highly  mobile  society  such 
as  ours. 

The  commercial  or  "  business  "  group  came  into  pre- 
dominance after  the  Civil  War.  That  controversy  was 
not  only  a  victory  for  free  labor  as  against  slave  labor; 
but  eventually  a  triumph  for  manufacturing  as  against 
agricultural  labor.  The  outstanding  feature  of  the  last 
half  century  w^as  the  great  expansion  of  manufacturing 
and  trade, ^*  and  the  new  types  of  concentrated  organiza- 
tion. While  the  agricultural  interest  also  expanded,  it 
was  overshadowed  by  the  more  striking  and  significant 
development  of  the  arts  of  manufacture.  In  number  of 
employees,  amount  of  capital  invested,  in  value  of  output, 
the  new  type  of  activity  showed  the  greatest  advance. 
Not  only  was  this  true,  but  "  business  "  underwent  im- 
portant alterations.  Large  scale  industries  appeared  and 
made  rapid  inroads  on  the  smaller  business  enterprises 
which  found  themselves  crowded  to  the  wall  somewhat  as 
the  feudal  chiefs  went  down  before  the  national  rulers. 
The  technical  man  was  to  a  great  extent  displaced  as  the 
active  and  directing  head  of  the  enterprise,  and  his  place 
was  taken  by  the  capitalist,  often  without  detailed  knowl- 
edge of  the  industry  in  its  technical  aspects.  The  process 
of  combination  of  industries  became  so  much  the  order  of 
the  day  that  the  commercial  leadership  was  to  a  large 
extent  taken  by  those  whose  chief  function  was  that  of 
consolidation,  of  merging  and  uniting  scattered  industries 
in   centralized    form.     Transportation,   monopolies   and 

1*  See  E.  L.  Bogart,  "  Economic  History  of  the  U.  S."     (1907). 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  25 

credit  interlocked  in  unprecedented  form.  And  for  these 
services  the  largest  material  rewards  were  often  paid. 
Toward  the  end  of  this  period  another  fundamental 
change  was  seen  in  the  marked  development  of  foreign 
trade.  "  The  balance  of  trade,"  as  it  was  called,  shifted 
and  turned  in  favor  of  the  United  States,  and  attention 
was  directed  as  never  before  to  the  expansion  of  industry 
in  outside  territory. 

These  changes  are  hastily  sketched  only  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  that  the  type  of  "  business  "  which  now  came 
into  the  ascendancy  was  widely  different  from  the  earlier 
forms  of  commercial  organization  and  activity  in  many  of 
its  features.  While  the  pecuniary  system  remained  the 
same  in  its  broadest  outlines,  the  business  man  of  a  cen- 
tury ago  was  now  old-fashioned  and  unadapted  to  the  new 
competitive  conditions  of  the  later  day.  Large  scale  or- 
ganization, quick  consolidation,  accounting,  advertising, 
credit,  "system" — all  were  changed,  and  a  new  world 
commercially  was  created.  And  above  all  the  appearance 
and  activities  of  the  corporation  and  the  super-corpora- 
tion characterized  the  period. 

It  was  this  new  type  of  so-called  "  big  business  "  that 
assumed  the  leadership  in  the  industrial  as  well  as  in  the 
political  world.  A  government  traditionally  weak  and 
already  corrupt  was  often  swept  aside  except  where  it  was 
useful  for  privilege  or  immunity,  and  then  it  was  either 
controlled  through  the  party  machine  or  corrupted  in  more 
direct  form.  Thus  Mr.  Taft  says,  "  The  great  corpora- 
tions found  it  useful  first  to  restrain  hostile  legislation  and 
then  to  secure  affirmative  legislation  giving  them  undue 
advantage  in  the  conduct  of  their  business.     The  time 


26  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

came  when  it  was  possible  in  some  great  corporations  for 
the  officers  and  directors  to  issue,  with  the  same  non- 
chalance and  certainty  of  their  being  complied  with, 
orders  for  steel  rails  or  industrial  equipment,  on  the  one 
hand,  or  for  the  delivery  of  delegations  in  a  state,  county 
or  national  political  convention,  on  the  other.  In  the 
early  years  of  this  century  the  people  became  fully 
aroused  to  the  fact  that  they  were  almost  in  the  grasp  of 
a  plutocracy."  ^^ 

The  activities  of  this  new  and  small  commercial  group 
were  not  uncontested.  They  were  bitterly  fought  by  the 
farmers  where  their  interests  came  in  conflict  as  in  the 
case  of  the  railroad  rates;  and  they  were  drawn  into  the 
sharpest  of  conflicts  with  organized  labor  during  the 
whole  period.  Of  equal  significance  was  the  opposition 
of  the  smaller  business  men,  much  greater  numerically, 
who  as  independent  producers  were  often  driven  from 
the  field,  and  who  defended  themselves  with  the  greatest 
vigor,  although  with  little  success  so  far  as  their  im- 
mediate objects  were  concerned.  Combinations  of  the 
farmer,  the  labor  group  and  the  endangered  small  pro- 
ducers or  merchants  frequently  overthrew  the  rule  of  the 
larger  business  in  states  and  in  the  United  States;  but 
while  these  allied  groups  were  able  to  score  political  tri- 
umphs and  force  the  enactment  of  laws,  they  were  not  able 
to  obtain  consistent  administration  and  enforcement  of  the 
policies  for  which  they  fought.  The  Interstate  Commerce 
Act  and  the  Anti-Trust  Law,  the  great  national  monu- 

19 "  Economic  and  Political  Summary  of  the  Generation  Just 
Closing,"  in  Journal  of  the  National  Institute  of  Social  Sciences, 
p.  64  (1915). 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  27 

ments  to  the  efforts  of  these  allies,  were  rendered  largely 
ineffective,  and  did  not  materially  affect  the  general  con- 
solidating tendencies  of  the  times.  That  this  was  due, 
partly,  to  the  weakness  of  administrative  agencies,  but 
also  in  great  measure  to  the  failure  to  interpret  correctly 
the  economic  tendencies  of  the  time  and  to  formulate  an 
appropriate  program  cannot  be  denied.  The  novelty  of 
the  situation,  the  rapidity  of  current  change,  the  weakness 
of  government,  the  prevailing  and  traditional  opposition 
to  governmental  interference  with  individual  liberty  in  the 
political  sense  of  the  term,  or  with  that  type  of  it  repre- 
sented by  individual  freedom  of  competition:  —  all  con- 
spired to  make  effective  action  impossible  at  this  stage  of 
the  politico-economic  development.  In  the  meantime 
**  business,"  that  is  large  scale  business,  wanted  chiefly 
non-interference,  which  it  was  able  to  obtain  either  from 
governmental  inertia  or  when  necessary  by  the  process  of 
influence,  intimidation  or  of  corruption. 

This  was  not  a  government  for  which  a  ruling  group 
assumed  a  grave  responsibility  of  a  paternal  kind  as  was 
the  case  in  contemporary  England  or  in  Germany.  It 
was  a  situation  in  which  the  ruling  powers  wished  to  be 
let  alone,  employing  the  government  only  occasionally  as 
in  the  case  of  the  tariff,  yet  feeling  that  the  government 
was  at  their  disposal  whenever  required;  but  not  fre- 
quently requiring  it,  and  not  much  disposed  to  build  up 
an  effective  government  which  might  prove  troublesome 
when  set  up  and  put  in  action.  To  this  the  prevailing 
popular  opposition  to  economic  concentration  and  the 
corrupt  tendencies  of  politics  of  the  spoils  type  con- 
tributed.    Thus  a  prevailing  type  of  thought  regarding 


28  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  government  tended  to  a  certain  kind  of  contempt  for 
it,  not  the  type  of  theoretical  dislike  entertained  by  the 
anarchist,  but  a  feeling  that  energetic  government  intern- 
ally was  more  likely  to  make  trouble  than  otherwise  in 
the  evolution  of  the  nation's  industries,  just  as  labor^Was 
thought  of  frequently  as  a  potential  source  of  "  trouble." 
Government  was  a  necessity,  but  it  was  a  corrupt,  ignorant 
and  weak  thing,  to  be  roughly  handled  and  sharply  spoken 
to  when  contact  with  it  became  necessary  —  useful  in 
times  when  force  was  needed  at  home  or  abroad  for  the 
protection  of  persons  or  property,  but  dangerous  in  that 
when  once  galvanized  into  action  it  showed  a  tendency  to 
continue  its  activities.  Its  enthronement  and  its  abdica- 
tion were  both  awkward.  Thus  the  political  mores  of  the 
leading  group  was  divided  against  itself.  On  the  one 
hand,  it  preached  patriotism,  devotion  to  the  state  in  inter- 
national affairs,  and  in  internal  affairs  respect  for  law  and 
order  as  often  as  it  became  necessary  to  call  upon  the 
government  for  protection  of  persons  and  property  in 
industrial  disputes;  but  on  the  other  hand  the  broader 
social  interests  of  the  state,  the  majesty  of  the  public  pur- 
pose, the  supremacy  of  the  common  interest  against  the 
special,  could  not  be  too  vigorously  emphasized.  Nor 
could  corruption  be  too  strongly  condemned,  nor  spoils 
politics  too  vigorously  assailed ;  for  these  were  instru- 
ments of  control  under  the  given  situation  and  with  the 
given  purposes  and  methods  accepted  as  practically  neces- 
sary, although  theoretically  indefensible.  Thus  there 
came  to  be  a  hopeless  conflict  in  ideals  within  the  inmost 
mind  and  heart  of  those  who  held  the  power.^*^     The  new 

20  See  H.  G.  Wells,  "  Social  Forces,"  p.  335. 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  29 

group  had  no  roots  running  back  deep  into  the  past; — 
neither  the  sanctions  of  ancestral  origin,  the  solid  backing 
of  established  religion,  the  lure  of  the  jure  divino,  or  tra- 
ditional responsibility  for  the  government ;  —  only  the 
fact  of  present  day  power  in  unaccustomed  and  busy 
hands.  They  did  not  have  time  to  "  transform  their 
might  into  right  "  or  the  obedience  they  claimed  into  duty ; 
to  create  the  "  higher  conservatism ''  of  Europe,  Ruth- 
lessness,  then,  was  a  characteristic  method,  brutal  exercise 
of  power  as  power,  unwillingness  to  appeal  to  ethics  or 
theory  or  systematic  interpretation  of  events,  for  all 
types  of  ethics,  theory  and  interpretation  were  hostile  to 
the  current  methods  :  and  the  appeal  would  be  made  in  vain 
to  these  jurisdictions.  Without  the  prevalence  of  spoils 
politics,  with  a  government  possessed  of  more  vigor  and 
initiative,  with  other  theories  in  the  public  mind  regarding 
economic  concentration,  a  different  position  might  have 
been  taken.  And  as  the  end  of  the  period  approached 
there  came  a  change  in  the  view  taken  by  large  scale 
"  business  "  as  on  the  other  hand  there  was  a  change  in  the 
democratic  theory  of  large  scale  enterprise ;  and  as  the 
grip  of  spoils  politics  tended  to  weaken  somewhat,  and  as 
the  government  grew  in  strength,  and  energy  and  leader- 
ship, the  "  higher  conservatism  "  tended  to  appear,  and 
the  coarser  type  of  earlier  conservatism,  developed  during 
through  alliance  with  corrupt  politics,  to  give  way. 

Many  of  the  conspicuous  features  of  the  earlier  periods 

of  American  history  survived  during  the  last  half-century. 

Some  of  the  characteristics  noted  by  De  Tocqueville  ^^  in 

1835   were  commented  upon   by  Bryce  ^^   in    1888,  and 

21  "  Democracy  in  America."   22  "  The  American  Commonwealth." 


30  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Muensterberg  ^^  and  Wells  ^^  twenty  years  later.  In  re- 
viewing the  predictions  made  by  Hamilton  and  De  Tocque- 
ville,  Lord  Bryce  indicates  the  defects  in  the  prophecy  of 
these  publicists.^'' 

Among  the  fundamental  features  were  the  absence  of 
an  official  governing  group  resting  upon  an  hereditary  or 
class  basis  as  in  European  countries.  The  beginnings  of 
a  large  class  of  administrators  were  found  in  the  expan- 
sion of  governmental  activities,  but  there  was  no  trace 
here  of  the  hereditary  system  or  position  based  upon  class 
connection.  The  American  merit  system  was  open  to  all 
without  social  discrimination  and  without  particular  pre- 
liminary requirements  of  a  financial  nature.  The  pro- 
fessional "  politician  "  on  the  other  hand,  was  not  re- 
cruited from  any  special  class  or  group  to  the  exclusion  of 
others. 

Another  striking  feature  of  American  political  life  was 
the  almost  complete  absence  of  the  military  caste  or  class 
conspicuous  in  nearly  all  of  the  contemporary  European 
states,  and  often  so  powerful  in  the  determination  of 
national  policies.  The  powerful  military  equipment 
created  during  the  strenuous  years  of  the  Civil  War  was 
completely  disbanded  and  its  members  quietly  took  their 
places  again  in  the  ranks  of  civil  life.  Individual  officers 
became  prominent  in  public  affairs,  and  associations  of 
veterans.  North  and  South,  exerted  a  considerable  influ- 

23  "  The  Americans  "  and  in  "  American  Traits." 

2* "  The  Future  in  America."  See  also  Paul  de  Rousiers,  "  La 
Vie  Americaine,"  1892 ;  Angelo  Mosso,  "  La  Democrazia  nella 
Religione  e  nella  Scienza"  (1908),  ch.  8,  10. 

26  Bryce,  "  Constitutions,"  p.  358. 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  3 1 

ence  in  politics,  but  this  was  the  voice  of  civilians,  not  of 
soldiers.  Nor  was  the  ceremonialism  and  formalism  of 
the  European  governments  introduced  in  America  during 
this  period. 

Another  continuing"  feature  of  American  life  was  the 
general  freedom  of  occupation  and  trade.  The  excep- 
tional mobility  and  versatility  which  characterized  the 
national  life  during  the  early  generations  of  its  existence 
remained,  though  in  less  pronounced  degree  during  the 
period  under  discussion.  Nowhere  was  mobility  of  land, 
mobility  of  labor,  and  interchange  of  occupation  more 
notable  than  here.  It  is  true  that  specialization  of 
activity  under  the  stress  of  the  division  of  labor  tended 
more  and  more  to  limit  this  freedom,  but  for  the  time 
being  the  same  tendency  endured,  little  diminished  from 
its  original  course.  Taken  in  connection  with  the  con- 
stantly shifting  population  from  section  to  section,  and 
from  rural  region  to  urban  community,  together  with  the 
great  influx  of  immigration,  the  effect  of  this  general 
tendency  was  very  great.  On  the  one  hand,  it  operated 
to  make  the  crystallization  of  fixed  classes  and  of  class 
points  of  view  difficult,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  tended 
to  prevent  or  delay  the  formation  of  those  necessary 
"  common  understandings "  upon  which  all  successful 
government  rests  in  last  analysis.  As  the  limit  of  free 
land  was  reached,  as  the  organization  of  trades  unions 
was  perfected,  as  combinations  of  capital  became  more 
and  more  powerful,  as  the  many  types  of  specialized  occu- 
pation developed,  the  mobility  of  life  tended  to  diminish; 
but  on  the  whole,  during  this  period,  had  not  yet  so  far 
diminished  as  to  reduce  seriously  the  importance  of  this 


32  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

characteristic,  so  long  distinctive  of  American  economic 
and  social  life. 

A  powerful  democratizing  influence  at  work  through- 
out this  period  was  that  of  education  —  perhaps  the  most 
powerful  of  all.  The  school  system  expanded  rapidly 
and  also  made  notable  advances  in  the  quantity  and  qual- 
ity of  work.  In  no  field  of  social  activity  was  more  rapid 
progress  made  than  in  that  of  public  education.  In  the 
South  this  movement  was  delayed,  but  toward  the  latter 
part  of  the  period  remarkable  advances  were  made  here. 
Free  and  compulsory  in  character,  the  school  system  was 
a  ceaseless  factor  in  democratization.  At  the  same  time, 
high  schools,  colleges  and  universities  sprang  up  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  and  helped  in  the  general  enlighten- 
ment of  the  community.  It  would  be  impossible  to  dis- 
cuss here  the  details  of  this  comprehensive  and  important 
movement,  but  it  is  important  to  note  the  development  of 
public  education  —  everywhere  the  corner-stone  of  free 
government. ^^ 

The  school,  the  magazine,  the  book,  all  developed  with 
the  very  greatest  rapidity;  and  they  all  pointed  in  the 
general  direction  of  intelligent  consideration  of  demo- 
cratic problems.  At  the  same  time,  the  expansion  of 
leisure  through  the  shortening  of  the  hours  of  labor 
opened  the  way  to  education  for  thousands.  In  the  same 
way  the  enormous  growth  of  the  press  aided  in  the  great 
processes  of  democratic  discussion,  although  toward  the 
end  of  the  period  portions  of  the  daily  press  tended  to  fall 

26  See  C.  H.  Judd,  "  The  Evolution  of  a  Democratic  School 
System,"  1918 ;  E.  P.  Cubberly,  "  Public  School  Administration," 
1 916;  "  Public  Education  in  the  United  States,"  191 9. 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  33 

under  the  special  control  of  particular  interests.  Mr. 
Hart  says,  "  The  great  newspaper  is  no  longer  a  voice  — 
it  is  a  property."  Yet  a  democratic  circulation  is  the 
basis  of  power  in  any  case. 

Another  early  American  characteristic  continuing 
through  this  period  was  the  separation  of  church  and  state. 
This  was  accomplished  during  the  Jacksonian  democracy, 
and  no  change  was  made  in  the  last  half  of  the  century  in 
the  status  then  established.  To  the  previous  diversity  of 
religious  sects,  there  was  added  during  the  last  fifty  years 
a  large  infusion  of  the  Catholic  element,  and  of  the 
Jewish  also,  particularly  during  the  last  quarter  of  the  cen- 
tury. This  very  multiplicity  of  religions  tended  to  pre- 
serve the  spirit  of  toleration  and  to  maintain  the  doctrine 
of  the  separation  of  the  church  from  the  state.  In  the 
rapid  development  of  the  far  reaching  system  of  public 
education  the  same  principle  held  through.  No  provision 
was  made  or  even  seriously  considered  for  the  allotment 
of  school  money  to  any  particular  denomination  or  creed. 
Educational  facilities  supplied  by  particular  religious 
faiths  were  maintained  at  private  expense,  although  in 
some  instances  payments  of  public  money  were  made  to 
various  charitable  or  correctional  institutions  under  relig- 
ious auspices.  Almost  the  only  evidence  of  the  union  of 
the  church  and  state  was  seen  in  the  general  immunity 
from  taxation  accorded  to  properties  held  and  utilized  for 
religious  purposes. 

In  short,  there  were  working  in  America  in  the  main 
the  same  forces  that  were  operating  in  the  Occident  gen- 
erally, the  same  influences  of  modern  Industrialism,  of 
Urbanism,  of  Feminism,  with  the  challenging  need  of 


34  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

interpreting  democracy  in  new  terms  to  meet  the  chang- 
ing situations.  Imperiahsm,  Mihtarism,  SociaHsm,  were 
less  active  as  poHtical  agencies  here  than  elsewhere. 
Only  during  the  last  years  of  the  period  did  they  become 
factors  of  material  importance.  Militarism  scarcely 
troubled  us,  while  the  figure  of  Pacificism  loomed  large, 
as  the  Great  War  drew  nearer.  Our  population  was  less 
homogeneous  than  that  of  most,  though  not  all  European 
states,  and  was  further  complicated  by  the  race  problem 
of  the  South.  The  migratory  movement  of  our  popula- 
tion within  the  nation  was  without  a  parallel  elsewhere. 
Our  educational  system  was  more  democratic. 

In  comparison  with  the  earlier  years  of  American  de- 
velopment, the  most  striking  changes  were  those  brought 
about  by  the  rapid  concentration  of  a  heterogeneous  pop- 
ulation, the  swift  increase  in  manufacturing  and  com- 
merce, the  new  types  of  industrial  organization  both  of 
capital  and  labor.  America  had  ceased  to  be  a  rural, 
agricultural  state,  and  had  become  a  partly  rural,  partly 
urban,  nation,  with  industries  partly  agricultural,  but 
partly  commercial,  with  capital,  labor  and  agriculture  or- 
ganized in  varying  degrees  of  compactness.  A  mighty 
process  of  urban  and  industrial  concentration  was  going 
on,  under  the  forms  and  traditions  of  rural  democracy. 
Industrially,  geographically,  socially  and  politically  the 
sources  and  seat  of  power  were  shifting. 


CHAPTER  II . 

TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS   OF   DEMOCRACY 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  the  two  great  problems 
which  had  absorbed  the  attention  of  publicists  and 
political  philosophers  since  the  birth  of  the  Republic,  lost 
their  hold  upon  popular  interest.  Whether  the  nation 
could  endure  and  whether  theiinstitution  of  slavery  should 
survive :  —  these  were  no  longer  urgent  questions  for  the 
statesman.  Detailed  political  readjustments  and  revi- 
sions touching  the  Union  and  slavery  were  necessary,  but 
as  major  issues  they  were  definitely  laid  aside.  The  in- 
ternational duties  and  obligations  of  the  United  States 
were  not  regarded  as  pressing  problems  for  half  a  century, 
except  at  the  close  of  the  Spanish  war.  Hence  the  way 
was  clear  for  the  intimate  consideration  of  the  internal 
problems  of  democracy.  Swift  and  far  reaching  changes 
in  the  industrial  and  social  world,  made  a  reconsideration 
of  the  scope  and  structure  of  democracy  all  the  more 
urgently  necessary;  made  it,  indeed,  impossible  to  avoid 
meeting  the  new  problems  face  to  face  and  earnestly  un- 
dertaking their  solution. 

In-  the  American  Revolution  the  chief  politi'cal  prob- 
lems had  been  those  of  independence,  primarily  an  inter- 
national question,  and  the  establishment  of  popular 
government  instead  of  hereditary  rule.  The  problems 
were  stated  in  terms  of  the  natural  law  philosophy  then 

35 


36  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

in  vogue  throughout  the  world;  in  fact  the  identical 
philosophy  which  had  been  invoked  by  the  English  revo- 
lutionists against  the  old  regime  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. The  natural  rights  of  the  colonists  were  closely 
related  to  the  ancient  rights  of  British  subjects.  The 
construction  of  the  local  governments  of  the  states  car- 
ried with  it  necessarily  a  broad  discussion  of  structural 
problems,  and  the  outcome  was  the  abolition  of  the  heredi- 
tary principle,  whether  applied  to  the  head  of  the  state, 
or  to  any  subordinate  branch,  and  the  erection  of  a 
Republican  edifice.  The  intense  localism  of  the  time, 
together  with  the  fear  of  possible  recurrence  to  monarchy, 
induced  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  checks  and 
balances  on  a  scale  hitherto  unequaled.  But  in  the  main 
the  Revolutionary  issues  were  not  class  questions.  They 
turned  primarily  upon  economic  and  political  indepen- 
dence of  a  distant  nation,  and  the  measures  and  safe- 
guards, whether  federal  or  local,  which  were  necessary  to 
guarantee  American  independence,  and  to  ensure  repre- 
sentative and  responsible  government. 

Under  Jefferson,  the  spirit  of  democracy,  rather  than 
any  particular  program,  triumphed  over  various  tenden- 
cies which  might  have  meant  a  return  to  the  spirit  and 
purpose  of  English  institutions,  unless  checked  by  vigor- 
ous, and  perhaps  undisciplined  expression  of  the  demo- 
cratic sentiment.  The  Jeffersonian  democracy  rested 
upon  an  agrarian  foundation,  as  distinguished  from  the 
commercial  interests  with  which  the  Federalists  were  more 
closely  identified.  Yet  Jefferson  neither  outlined  nor 
executed  any  striking  program  in  the  evolution  of  demo- 
cratic institutions,  although  he  gave  a  powerful  impetus 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       37 

to  the  development  of  democratic  spirit.  He  was  a 
prophet  and  preacher  of  democracy,  rather  than  a  builder 
of  democratic  institutions. 

The  later  democracy,  incarnated  in  the  dramatic  per- 
sonality of  "  King  Andrew  Jackson,"  more  nearly  repre- 
sented a  section  and  a  class  —  the  south  and  west,  to- 
gether with  the  smaller  tradesmen  and  mechanics,  against 
the  mercantile  east.  During  this  era  there  was  no  change 
in  the  general  principles  of  democracy,  but  their  practical 
application  was  very  greatly  broadened.  Human  per- 
sonality was  substituted  for  the  property  qualification  for 
voting  and  office-holding,  and  provision  was  made  for 
popular  referendum  upon  amendments  in  the  organic  law 
of  the  states.  The  popular  election  of  many  different 
offices  was  established  by  various  constitutional  amend- 
ments. The  life  term  of  the  judges  was  changed  to  a 
limited  tenure.  The  position  of  the  executive,  both  con- 
stitutionally and  politically,  was  greatly  strengthened. 
On  the  economic  side,  the  center  of  interest  was  the 
attack  upon  the  United  States  Bank,  as  a  general  repre- 
sentative of  the  power  of  wealth  in  politics  and  industry. 

The  bitter  controversy  over  slavery  covering  the  gen- 
eration prior  to  the  Civil  War,  reduced  the  formulas  of 
democracy  to  extremely  simple  terms,  so  plain,  in  fact, 
that  there  could  be  little  real  discussion  of  their  signifi- 
cance. On  any  democratic  basis,  the  entire  deprivation 
of  the  civil  rights  of  any  group  of  adult  citizens,  and  their 
permanent  assignment  to  the  status  of  property,  was 
wholly  indefensible.  The  fine-drawn  theoretical  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  slavery  advanced  by  Calhoun  and  others, 
was  after  all  a  specious  anachronism  which  could  not 


38  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

survive  either  the  assaults  of  democracy,  or  the  stem 
verdict  carried  by  the  economic  advantages  of  free 
labor  in  the  United  States.  During  this  struggle  many 
really  divergent  forces  readily  combined  upon  the  for- 
mula of  anti-slavery,  or  slavery  restriction  in  some  modi- 
fied form.  When  the  battle  lines  were  so  plainly  drawn 
between  freedom  and  slavery,  there  was  no  occasion  for 
refinement  in  the  principles  of  democracy.  An  adequate 
rallying  point  was  the  general  belief  that  all  men  are  en- 
titled to  certain  civil  rights  which  should  everywhere  be 
respected,  and  the  specific  application  was  made  to  the 
status  of  the  colored  man.  The  union  of  slavery  and 
secession  hastened  the  downfall  of  both.  The  over- 
whelming tendency  of  the  time,  the  world  over,  was 
toward  nationalism  and  the  abolition  of  slavery.  The 
battle  in  behalf  of  localism  in  the  form  of  "  states 
rights "  and  secession,  with  the  institution  of  slavery, 
against  the  powerful  forces  of  national  union  and  the 
world  sentiment  against  human  slavery,  resulted  in  the 
victory  of  Union  and  Liberty. 

But  with  these  issues  settled,  the  way  was  clear  for  the 
more  minute  discussion  of  internal  democracy.  It  is 
now  fifty  years  that  our  statesmen  and  philosophers  have 
wrestled  with  the  perplexing  problems  arising  from  the 
development  of  democracy  under  urban  and  industrial 
conditions.  In  this  half-century  many  different  ap- 
proaches to  this  question  have  been  made  by  many  dif- 
ferent minds.  The  new  interpretations  were  as  many 
and  varied  in  their  scope  and  their  shades  as  were  the 
rapidly  shifting  situations  out  of  which  they  came.  At 
times  the  lines  of  demarcation  were  sharp  and  clean-cut 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       39 

in  their  cleavage,  and  again  they  were  as  delicate  and 
elusive  in  their  finer  nuances.  Party  and  personal,  sec- 
tional and  class,  relations  often  added  to  the  inherent 
difficulties  of  evolving  a  principle.  At  all  times  liberty, 
equality  and  justice  had  been  the  despair  of  those  who 
sought  to  confine  them  within  the  close  walls  of  exclu- 
sive and  permanent  statement,  and  for  our  modern  demo- 
cratic theorists  the  task  was  not  easy.  They  were,  it  is 
true,  relieved  from  some  of  the  ever-present  European 
embarrassments  of  international  relationships,  alliances 
and  dependencies,  past,  present  and  prospective.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  were  obliged  to  face  the  difficulties 
peculiar  to  America.  Before  entering  on  a  detailed 
analysis  of  American  political  thought,  it  will  be  useful 
to  pass  in  review  the  types  of  general  interpretations  of 
democracy,  in  their  broadest  form. 

The  earliest  attempt  at  a  formulation  of  an  aggressive 
democratic  political  program  after  the  War  followed  the 
precedents  set  by  Jackson  in  his  day.  Historically,  the 
great  movement  of  the  Jacksonian  democracy  had  cen- 
tered concretely  around  the  attack  upon  the  United  States 
Bank,  as  the  stronghold  of  financial  aristocracy  and  polit- 
ical power.  Nothing  was  more  natural  after  the  War 
than  to  restate  this  earlier  doctrine  in  the  language  of  the 
new  day.  The  protest  against  contraction  of  the  cur- 
rency, the  demand  for  larger  issues  of  paper,  or  as  it  was 
called  "  people's  money,"  was  an  easy  and  ready  contin- 
uation of  the  old  warfare  against  the  bank,  the  "  money 
power  "  and  the  industrial  aristocracy  against  which  Jack- 
son had  so  vigorously  and  so  successfully  tilted  in  his  day. 

The  Greenback  Party  was  formed  around  the  demand 


40  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

for  currency  based  primarily  upon  fiat  or  credit  of  the 
government,  and  was  attractive  not  only  as  a  monetary 
program,  but  also  as  an  appeal  to  the  latent  democratic 
unrest  caused  by  the  development  of  industrial  conditions. 
When  this  issue  fell  into  desuetude,  the  currency  dogma 
assumed  the  form  of  a  demand  for  the  free  and  unlimited 
coinage  of  silver,  in  which  the  same  appeal  was  made  as 
in  the  previous  currency  controversy,  although  on  a  larger 
scale.  Ultimately  this  policy  became  the  nucleus  of  a 
great  political  campaign  under  the  effective  leadership  of 
Bryan.  The  struggle  terminated  in  the  definite  adoption 
of  the  gold  standard,  and  this  seemed  to  close  the  alliance 
continued  for  nearly  a  generation  between  democratic 
sentiment  and  a  particular  currency  specific. 

At  bottom,  however,  the  new  doctrine  obtained  its 
strength  not  from  the  currency  program  presented,  but 
as  a  tentative  formulation  of  democratic  sentiment.  It 
contained  a  sharp  note  of  appeal  to  the  agrarian  element, 
burdened  by  debt,  but  also  reached  the  working  men  of 
the  great  cities,  and  the  smaller  business  men  threatened 
by  the  encroachments  of  industrial  combinations.  It  was 
neither  "  fiat  money  "  nor  "  free  silver  "  that  constituted 
the  prime  element  of  cohesion  among  these  diverse  fac- 
tors. It  was  not  by  accident  that  the  opponents  of  mon- 
opoly in  general  or  of  the  railways  in  particular,  were  ready 
to  unite  with  the  Greenbackers  in  a  political  movement,^ 
nor  that  many  of  the  various  elements  of  social  unrest 
and  political  protest,  both  rural  and  urban,  centered 
around  the  later  currency  doctrines.     In  some  instances 

1  See   the  excellent   study,   Third  Party   Movements,  by  Fred   E. 
Haynes.     S.   J.   Buck's,   "  The   Granger    Movement." 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       4I 

doubt  of  the  adequacy  of  the  silver  program  was  openly 
announced,  and  in  more  instances  might  be  readily  in- 
ferred. It  was  not  merely  belief  in  the  economic  sound- 
ness of  these  money  programs  that  gave  the  movements 
their  real  power.  It  was  the  widespread  confidence  in 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  many  that  this  was  the 
cause  of  the  people;  that  here  the  battle  lines  were 
being  drawn  between  the  many  and  the  few.  It 
was  an  affair  of  the  heart  as  well  as  of  the  head  —  a 
matter  of  democratic  sympathy,  as  well  as  intellectual 
calculation.  In  short,  the  currency  campaigns  were 
efforts  to  interpret  democracy  in  terms  of  money,  follow- 
ing the  earlier  efforts  of  the  ante  helium  days. 

In  the  first  part  of  the  period,  however,  the  desire  to 
preserve  the  Union  and  the  fruits  of  the  war  proved  far 
stronger  than  any  considerations  of  economic  or  party 
creed,  and  hence  the  currency  demand  was  easily  brushed 
aside  by  the  larger  national  parties,  and,  when  isolated, 
was  unable  to  make  its  way  alone.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  period,  however,  the  continued  side-tracking  of  the 
currency  question  proved  to  be  no  longer  possible.  The 
phenomenal  growth  of  the  Populist  Party  was  a  factor 
that  could  not  be  ignored.  The  democracy  surrendered 
to  the  new  propagandists  and  the  nation  was  compelled  to 
meet  the  issues  squarely.  The  weakness  of  the  currency 
plan  proposed,  however,  made  it  impossible  to  draw 
clearly  the  lines  of  democracy,  inasmuch  as  many  funda- 
mental democrats  were  unwilling  to  accept  the  free  silver 
premises  as  sound,  and  reluctantly  withheld  their  support 
from  the  party.  The  passage  of  the  Federal  Reserve 
Act  in  19 1 3  by  a  Democratic  Congress  under  the  influence 


42  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

of  a  Democratic  President,  assisted  by  Mr.  Bryan,  may  be 
said  to  mark  the  last  of  the  series  of  attempts  to  construct 
a  democratic  program  out  of  currency  material. 

Another  attempt  to  formulate  a  program  of  social, 
economic  and  political  reform  centered  around  the  own- 
ership of  land.  Henry  George's  brilliant  study.  "  Prog- 
ress and  Poverty,"  published  in  1879,  l^id  the  responsi- 
bility for  modern  political  and  economic  ills  at  the  door 
of  the  system  of  taxation.  Nothing,  he  believed,  could 
be  accomplished  until  the  system  under  which  public  reve- 
nues are  collected  from  improvements  on  land  and  from 
labor  is  utterly  abolished.  In  their  stead  he  proposed  to 
substitute  t  le  single  tax  upon  the  site  value  of  land. 
This  he  contended  would  accomplish  several  purposes. 
It  would  provide  a  simple  and  effective  source  of  public 
revenue  in  place  of  the  inefficient  and  unjust  system  now 
in  vogue,  and,  furthermore,  it  would  reduce  the  con- 
gestion of  population  in  large  cities  by  compelling  the 
building  upon  vacant  lots.  It  would  make  impossible  the 
acquisition  of  large  fortunes  through  the  increase  in  value 
of  the  land  held,  and  finally,  it  would  inaugurate  a  whole 
series  of  beneficent  economic  and  social  reforms.  These 
considerations  he  discussed  with  great  keenness,  vigor, 
and  persuasive  power.  Following  Henry  George  came  a 
long  series  of  disciples  who  presented  the  philosophy  of 
the  single  tax  with  great  enthusiasm  and  effectiveness.^ 

The  very  large  number  of  independent  land  owners  in 
the  United  States,  however,  made  it  difficult  to  secure 

2  Among  the  more  conspicuous  of  these  was  Louis  F.  Post,  "  Social 
Service,"  and  other  works ;  also  T.  G.  Shearman,  "  Natural  Taxa- 
tion." 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       43 

widespread  adherence  to  the  new  doctrine.  In  the  rural 
communities  the  single  tax  theory  was  coldly  received. 
In  the  urban  centers,  on  the  other  hand,  the  constitutional 
limitations  under  which  practically  all  cities  operate,  pre- 
vented the  adoption,  or  in  most  cases  even  the  serious 
consideration  of  any  system  of  taxing  the  large  increases 
in  urban  values.^  In  fact,  the  land  increment  tax  made 
much  more  rapid  progress  in  England  and  Germany  than 
in  the  United  States,  largely  owing  to  the  fact  that  in 
these  countries  the  landlords  are  few  and  tenancy  the 
order  of  the  day. 

No  systematic  political  philosophy  or  program  was 
contained  in  the  theory  of  George.  Entire  reliance  was 
placed  upon  the  new  system  of  land  taxation,  which  it 
was  confidently  assumed  would  prove  the  solution  of 
social  as  well  as  governmental  problems.  Yet  throughout 
his  writings  ran  a  strong  current  of  democratic  sympathy 
and  democratic  idealism,  which  beyond  doubt,  was  as 
broadly  influential  as  his  arguments  in  the  field  of  public 
finance.  His  goal  was  as  attractive  to  many  as  the  road 
he  indicated. 

In  some  instances  the  single  tax  passed  over  into  the 
field  of  land  nationalization  —  the  general  ownership  of 
all  the  land  by  the  state  or  government  through  some  one 
of  its  units,  and  in  other  cases,  by  an  easy  process  of 
transition,  developed  into  the  socialistic  doctrine.  In  the 
main,  however,  socialism  and  the  single  tax  were  antago- 
nistic, and  upon  more  than  one  occasion  sharp  criticisms 
were  passed  between  the  leaders  of  these  movements. 
The  single  taxer  naturally  believed  that  socialism  stood  in 

3  See  "  Report  of  New  York  City  Commission  on  Taxation,"  1916. 


44  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  way  of  the  more  rapid  advance  of  his  doctrine ;  while 
on  the  other  hand,  the  thorough-going  socialist  looked 
upon  the  single  tax  propaganda  as  an  irritating  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  the  complete  triumph  of  his  plan  for  the 
regeneration  of  society. 

Another  type  of  thought  took  the  form  of  a  demand 
for  political  changes,  particularly  as  a  result  of  the  devel- 
opments of  urban  conditions  and  of  political  parties. 
In  this  group  men  like  Tilden  and  Hughes  were  con- 
spicuous figures.  Corrupt  and  unrepresentative  govern- 
ment furnished  the  basis  for  a  widespread  movement 
against  the  spoils  system,  against  electoral  fraud  and 
trickery.  The  spirit  of  this  effort  was  that  of  protest 
against  the  control  of  cities,  parties  and  various  agencies 
of  government  by  small  groups  of  spoilsmen,  with  largely 
selfish  purposes.  The  concrete  demands  were  made  for 
the  merit  system  in  public  service  and  for  the  Australian 
ballot  in  the  earlier  period,  and  for  direct  primaries,  the 
short  ballot,  simplified  city  government  in  the  later  period, 
and  "  good  "  or  "  honest  "  government  generally. 

In  the  earlier  period  these  demands  were  often  sep- 
arated from  any  specific  relation  to  economic  causes,  and 
they  were  generally  grouped  together  under  the  head  of 
"  political  reform,"  as  civil  service  reform,  party  reform, 
municipal  reform,  or  sometimes  they  were  characterized 
by  the  term  "  good  government."  It  the  latter  part  of  the 
period  the  connection  between  "  bad  government "  and 
economic  disorder  was  more  frequently  announced,  and 
there  came  a  division  in  the  forces  of  "  reform."  The 
term  "  progressive  "  came  to  be  more  commonly  applied 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       45 

to  the  group  of  measures,  directed  toward  reorganization 
of  the  political  machinery. 

In  great  part  it  may  be  said  this  legislation  was  de- 
signed to  secure  an  easier  and  more  effective  expression 
of  the  will  of  the  democracy,  without  considering  very 
carefully  the  economic  consequences.  Men  of  diverse 
industrial  interests  often  found  common  ground  in  these 
movements,  although  in  the  main  the  greatest  impetus  was 
given  by  the  middle  class,  rather  than  by  the  laboring 
group  or  the  very  rich.  As  economic  lines  became 
clearer,  the  forces  formerly  allied  tended  to  fall  apart, 
on  such  definite  issues  as  public  utility  policies  in  cities,  and 
economic  applications  of  the  idea  of  "  good  government  " 
elsewhere :  and  while  they  combined  again  from  time 
to  time,  the  earlier  fusion  became  more  and  more  difficult 
to  effect  and  maintain,  as  the  social  and  economic  pur- 
poses of  democracy  came  more  and  more  into  promi- 
nence. Nevertheless,  there  was  no  more  conspicuous  type 
of  political  thought  and  action  than  this  "  reform  "  move- 
ment upon  which  so  much  individual  and  organized  effort 
was  expended.  On  the  whole,  its  effect  on  public  edu- 
cation and  political  morality  was  probably  greater  than 
the  direct  effect  of  the  elaborate  program  of  changes  in 
political  machinery,  important  and  significant  as  were 
these  modifications.* 

4  "  The  Education  of  Henry  Adams,"  p.  280 :  "  The  political 
dilemma  was  as  clear  in  1870  as  it  was  likely  to  be  in  1970.  The 
system  of  1789  had  broken  down  and  with  it  the  i8th  century  fabric 
of  a  priori  or  moral  principles.  Politicians  had  tacitly  given  it  up. 
Grant's  administration  marked  the  avowal.  Such  a  system,  or 
want  of  system,  might  last  centuries  if  tempered  by  an  occasional 


46  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

The  over-shadowing  social  feature  of  this  period  was, 
however,  the  concentration  of  economic  power  in  corpor- 
ate form.  This  movement  had  begun  in  the  early  part  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  but  had  not  attained  its  full  dimen- 
sions until  the  last  half  of  the  century.^  The  observation 
of  this  process  gave  rise  to  various  movements.  On  the 
one  hand  there  was  the  effort  to  prevent  the  concentra- 
tion, again  the  efTort  to  control  concentration,  and  again 
an  effort  to  correct  abuses  which  arose  from  the  unequal 
terms  upon  which  the  individual  employer  or  the  small 
business  man  was  obliged  to  compete  with  the  large  cor- 
porate employer.  Roughly  speaking,  the  first  of  these 
were  championed  by  the  agrarian  or  middle-class  com- 
merical  groups,  while  the  latter  were  espoused  by  the 
representatives  of  organized  labor.  From  time  to  time 
these  groups  made  common  cause  in  various  undertakings. 
Generally  speaking,  they  were  more  ready  to  combine 
upon  personalities  than  upon  specific  measures. 

The  movement  toward  regulation  of  large  scale  indus- 
trial corporations  began  shortly  after  the  Civil  War. 
The  immediate  impulse  to  it  was  the  industrial  depression 
occurring  in  the  early  seventies.  By  far  the  most  con- 
spicuous of  large-scale  industries  was  the  railroad,  which 
was  for  a  generation  the  storm  center  of  political  interest 
and  action.     In  this  movement  the  Grange,  a  national 

revolution  or  civil  war;  but  as  a  machine  it  was,  or  soon  would 
be,  the  poorest  in  the  world  — the  clumsiest  —  the  most  inefficient." 
6  See  Cushman  K.  Davis,  "  Modern  Feudalism,"  cited  in  Holmes 
"  Minnesota,"  IV,  p.  60.  Charles  Francis  Adams's  "  A  Chapter  of 
Erie  "  is  a  notable  analysis  of  a  railroad  situation.  North  American 
Review.    1869.    Vol.  109,  p.  30. 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       47 

organization  of  farmers,  was  particularly  active,  and  was 
for  some  time  exceedingly  effective  from  a  political  point 
of  view.  Material  progress  was  made  in  the  awakening 
of  public  sentiment,  and  various  regulative  laws  were  en- 
acted by  state  legislatures,  although  practically  the  pro- 
cess of  consolidation  was  not  seriously  retarded.  In  the 
case  of  Munn  vs.  Illinois^  the  Supreme  Court  held  that 
businesses  "  affected  with  a  public  interest  "  were  subject 
to  public  regulation;  and  thus  laid  the  broad  foundation 
for  a  program  of  public  control.  Not  until  1887,  how- 
ever, was  a  plan  of  national  regulation  of  railroads 
adopted,  in  the  form  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act, 
which  was  designed  to  lay  the  basis  of  a  comprehensive 
policy  of  railroad  control. 

Measures  for  the  general  regulation  of  other  corpora- 
tions followed  on  the  heels  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Act.  In  1890  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Law  was  passed, 
presumably  the  beginning  of  a  far-reaching  policy  of 
corporate  regulation.  Specific  enforcement  of  the  Act 
was,  however,  long  delayed,  and  when  obtained  its  results 
were  not  wholly  satisfactory.  In  1914  the  Clayton 
Law  was  passed  providing  for  the  creation  of  a  Federal 
Trade  Commission,  with  broad  regulative  powers  of  an 
unusual  character,  and  authorizing  the  prohibitition  of 
unfair  competitive  practices,  and  a  general  policy  of  de- 
tailed supervision  over  abuses  arising  in  the  course  of 
trade. 

Party  movements  reflecting  the  anti-corporation  view 
began  almost  immediately  after  the  War.  The  first  of 
these  was  the  Anti-Monopoly  Party,  which  was  also 
694  U.  S.  113. 


48  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

allied  with  the  Greenbackers,  however,  and  whose  pro- 
gram was  confused  with  the  currency  program  both  in  the 
public  mind  and  in  the  personnel  of  its  own  leadership. 
Following  the  decline  of  this  party  there  came  the  United 
Workingmen's  party,  which  was  based  upon  somewhat 
the  same  principle  of  opposition  to  corporate  combina- 
tions, together  with  a  developed  program  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  condition  of  the  workers.  After  the 
collapse  of  this  movement,  came  the  Populist  party,  with 
a  radical  program  appealing  primarily  to  the  agricultural 
interests,  but  also  enlisting  the  interest  of  the  workers 
in  the  industrial  centers.  The  Populist  movement  was 
swallowed  up  by  the  Democratic  party  in  the  free  silver 
campaign  in  1896,  and  with  that  defeat  it  collapsed.  A 
more  complete  formulation  of  a  policy  was  made  by  the 
Progressive  party.  The  chief  emphasis  was  laid,  how- 
ever, upon  the  machinery  of  the  government  and  upon 
beneficent  social  legislation,  while  the  anti-trust  program 
was  neither  sharply  formulated  nor  widely  understood. 

Many  different,  and  at  times  confusing,  phases  of  the 
movement  for  corporate  regulation  developed.  They 
may  be  grouped  as  follows : 

1.  The  demand  for  the  recognition  of  the  right  of  the 
government  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  individuals  or  cor- 
porations where  they  conflict  with  public  interest,  particu- 
larly of  railways.  This  was  the  basis  of  the  Granger 
movement  and  the  Granger  legislation  and  of  later  regu- 
latory movements. 

2.  The  demand  for  prohibition  of  the  consolidation  of 
industrial  concerns  in  monopoly   form.     This   was   the 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       49 

basis  of  many  state  laws  and  of  the  federal  law  of  1890 
prohibiting  combinations  in  restraint  of  trade. 

3.  The  demand  for  the  prohibition  of  unfair  competi- 
tive practices  on  the  part  of  corporations  or  others  —  the 
attempt  to  eliminate  what  was  termed  "  unfair  competi- 
tion." The  underlying  theory  here  is  that  competition, 
as  such,  is  beneficent  and  benevolent,  except  in  individual 
cases,  where  bad  practices  should  be  exposed  and  ended, 

4.  The  demand  for  the  recognition  of  the  large-scale 
industry  as  a  permanent  factor  in  industrial  organization, 
with  provision  for  full  publicity  of  affairs,  regulation  of 
stock  issues,  working  conditions,  limitation  of  profits, 
and  price  fixing.  The  latter  doctrine  has  been  applied 
particularly  in  the  case  of  municipal  utilities  and  of  rail- 
roads. 

5.  The  demand  for  the  governmental  ownership  of 
railroads,  municipal  public  utilities,  so-called  "  natural 
monopolies,"  and  of  all  other  industrial  combinations 
where  monopoly  is  established. 

6.  The  demand  for  the  collective  ownership  of  all  large- 
scale  or  basic  means  of  production  and  distribution. 

7.  The  demand  for  a  policy  of  laissez  faire  in  regard 
to  industrial  enterprise  —  first,  on  the  ground  that  these 
were  private  businesses;  later  on  the  ground  that  the 
specific  remedies  proposed  were  inadequate,  unconstitu- 
tional or  inappropriate ;  later  on  the  grounds  of  stress  of 
international  competition ;  and  continuously  on  the  theory 
that  private  enterprise  should  not  be  subjected  to  govern- 
mental interference,  except  in  the  most  extreme  cases. 

These  various  points  of  view  were  not  always  clearly 


50  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

stated  or  sharply  distinguished,  and  in  fact  they  were 
frequently  intermingled  in  the  same  mind  or  in  the  same 
movement;  or  obscured  by  parties  or  personalities. 
Bryan,  Roosevelt,  La  Follette  and  Wilson,  represented  the 
mingling  of  many  points  of  view  upon  this  problem,  and 
sometimes  their  personalities  illuminated  and  then  again 
obscured,  mercifully  perhaps,  the  broad  differences  of 
opinion  among  their  often  heterogeneous  followers. 

At  the  outset  many  diverse  elements  co-operated  in 
the  attempt  to  curb  corporate  combination,  but  as  time 
went  on,  wide  variations  in  diagnosis  and  prescription 
appeared.  These  variations  took  the  shape  of  political 
and  economic  theories,  and  of  legislative  and  party  pro- 
grams. The  socialists  held  and  the  labor  unions  inclined 
to  believe  that  the  checking  of  the  growth  of  large  scale 
industry  was  impossible,  but  insisted  that  steps  should 
be  taken  to  mitigate  the  incidental  evils  in  the  one  case 
by  the  governmental  ownership  of  industries,  and  in  the 
other  by  a  series  of  laws  designed  to  protect  the  workers, 
and  by  industrial  organization  and  action  for  purposes  of 
collective  bargaining.  Likewise,  many  employers,  some- 
times characterized  as  "  Civic  Federationists  "  believed 
that  large-scale  production  was  inevitable  but  that  stren- 
uous efforts  should  be  put  forth  to  meet  all  the  evils 
arising  from  the  new  situation,  while  retaining  all  the 
benefits  of  the  new  type  of  production.  On  the  whole, 
the  general  opinion  gradually  shifted  to  the  position  that 
combination  was  inevitable,  and  that  public  policy  should 
be  directed  toward  the  adequate  regulation  of  large  com- 
binations or  toward  their  public  ownership.  The  idea 
made  most  rapid  progress  in  the  municipalities,  where 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       5 1 

under  intensive  conditions  typical  symptoms  developed 
more  quickly  than  elsewhere. 

In  addition  to  the  struggles  to  interpret  democracy  in 
terms  of  currency  and  credit,  of  land  and  the  single  tax, 
of  political  reform,  in  the  narrow  sense,  there  was 
through  a  considerable  par;  of  the  period  an  effort  to 
construe  democratic  progress  in  terms  of  the  tariff. 
This  movement  was  notably  strong  in  the  '8o's  and  '90's, 
between  the  Greenback  and  the  Free  Silver  campaigns. 
The  tariff  was  held  to  be  the  means  of  enriching  the  few 
at  the  expense  of  the  many,  the  "  mother  of  trusts,"  the 
means  of  governmental  corruption.  Free  trade  or  tariff 
revision  was  hailed  as  the  remedy.  Protectionism  was 
proclaimed,  however,  as  the  cause  of  high  wages,  the  pro- 
tector of  labor,  the  source  of  commerical  development, 
the  bulwark  of  national  prosperity.  The  issue  was  over- 
shadowed by  the  currency,  railroad  and  monopoly  prob- 
lems, and  did  not  effectively  function  as  an  interpreter  of 
democratic  sentiment. 

With  these  preliminaries  in  view  it  was  now  possible 
to  scrutinize  intelligently  the  different  interpretations 
made  in  view  of  and  in  terms  of  the  overshadowing  in- 
dustrial and  social  fact  of  concentration.  They  do  not 
correspond  consistently  to  party  lines  or  divisions,  but  are 
broad  cleavages  in  interest  and  opinion.  First  came  what 
might  perhaps  be  called  the  theory  of  reaction  —  the  de- 
fense of  the  industrial  process  in  terms  of  political  phil- 
osophy. This  was  not  often  expressed  in  systematic 
form.  Possibly  it  would  not  have  been  acknowledged  as 
a  philosophy  at  all  if  written  large  and  systematically. 
But  it  was  a  doctrine  which  had  adherents  who,  if  not 


52  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

numerous,  were  powerful  and  aggressive,  and  often  dom- 
inated both  local  and  national  affairs,  and  from  time  to 
time  statements  were  made  which  seemed  to  embody  this 
theory.  A  great  railroad  chief  once  said,  "  The  public 
be  damned !  "  A  great  coal  baron  referred  to  the  divine 
right  of  the  coal  miner  and  owner.  "  The  rights  of  the 
laboring  man  will  be  protected  and  cared  for,  not  by  labor 
and  agitation  but  by  the  Christian  men  to  whom  God  in 
his  infinite  wisdom  has  given  control  of  the  property  in- 
terests of  this  country."  From  these  statements  may  be 
discerned  the  outcroppings  of  a  life  philosophy  which 
dominated  the  activities  of  many  men.  From  one  point 
of  view  this  was  the  theory  of  cynical  and  indifferent  and 
selfish  disregard  of  the  interests  of  the  rest  of  the  com- 
munity —  what  we  now  term  an  "  anti-social  "  point  of 
view.  Fundamentally,  however,  it  was  a  belief  that  the 
elect  of  the  industrial  leaders  should  not  be  subjected  to 
interference  by  the  rest  of  the  people,  but  should  be  aU 
lowed  to  work  out  the  salvation  of  the  economic  world. 
On  the  whole,  it  was  believed  that  the  leaders  if  left 
undisturbed  would  accomplish  more  for  their  fellows 
than  the  industrially  inferior  would  be  able  to  do  for 
themselves.  It  was  the  philosophy  of  exploitation,  over- 
capitalization, cut-throat  competition  and  political  cor- 
ruption employed  to  obtain  or  hold  economic  privilege  or 
immunity.  It  was  the  philosophy  of  power  and  ruthless- 
ness,  based  partly  upon  sheer  selfishness  and  partly  upon 
the  conviction  that  the  few  should  determine  the  life 
course  of  the  many,  with  or  without  their  consent.  It 
was  the  American  version  of  Nietzsche's  "  superman  " 
in  trade,  and  Bernhardi's  "  ruthlessness  "  in  business  — 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       53 

the  translation  in  terms  of  industrialism  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  divine  right  and  duty  of  the  political  ruler  and  the 
autocratic  power  and  obligation  of  the  military  com- 
mander. But  far  from  assuming  its  real  role,  this  doc- 
trine was  not  uncommonly  clothed  in  the  most  correct  garb 
of  authority,  morality,  liberty  and  jurisprudence  J  Ross 
thus  characterized  it:  "A  brutal  selfishness  as  old  as  the 
Ice  Age  struts  about  in  phrases  borrowed  from  the  Dar- 
winists and  bids  us  see  in  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked 
the  success  of  the  adapted."  ® 

The  systematic  theory  of  conservatism  developed 
more  slowly.  During  the  first  quarter  of  the  half  century 
the  democratic  arguments  were  often  so  ill-formulated 
that  they  were  early  brushed  aside  as  communistic,  social- 
istic or  anarchistic.  However,  as  the  industrial  tendency 
of  the  time  became  more  and  more  pronounced,  and  as 
the  industrial  and  social  sides  of  the  democratic  philoso- 
phy and  program  became  more  evident,  the  conservative 
theory  also  began  to  develop  more  clearly.  The  new  in- 
terpretation of  democracy  corresponding  to  the  new  con- 
ditions was  expounded  by  numerous  authorities;  some- 
times by  jurists  and  courts;  sometimes  by  statesmen; 
sometimes  by  systematic  economists  and  philosophers. 
There  was,  it  is  true,  no  such  elaborate  defence  of  action 
as  was  seen  in  England  in  Mallock's  "  Aristocracy  and 
Evolution,"  or  in  Lord  Hugh  Cecil's  diplomatic  "  Con- 
servatism." A  closer  analogy  is  found  in  some  of  the 
developments  of  thought  in  France  where  economic  con- 

^  Victor  Yarros,  "  Theoretical  and  Practical  Nietzsche-ism," 
American  Jour.  Soc.  VI,  682. 

-'  So,  ial  Psychology,  282. 


54  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ditions  more  closely  resembled  those  in  America.®  The 
writings  of  the  eminent  sociologist,  Herbert  Spencer, 
particularly  **  The  Man  versus  The  State,"  were  the 
common  authority  at  this  time,  particularly  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  period. 

The  conservative  position  turned  upon  two  points. 
First,  the  theory  of  laissez  faire  as  the  foundation  of 
national  and  personal  prosperity ;  and  second,  the  doctrine 
of  the  strictest  limitation  of  the  powers  of  government 
in  behalf  of  personal  and  property  rights.  Individual- 
ism was  stated  in  language  not  much  different  from  that 
employed  in  England  during  the  earlier  part  of  the  cen- 
tury, although  from  time  to  time  the  later  arguments 
drawn  from  the  Darwinian  theory  of  the  survival  of  the 
fittest  were  employed.  Briefly  stated,  this  theory  as- 
sumes that  there  are  certain  natural  laws  of  trade,  whose 
operation  will  bring  about  the  greatest  welfare  of  the  in- 
dividual and  the  community.  Progress  depends  upon  the 
operation  of  free  competition  which  is  the  great  regulator 
of  economic  life.  It  ensures  the  survival  of  the  fittest, 
the  elimination  of  the  unfit.  Interference  with  the  law  of 
competition  is  paternalism  or  socialism.  It  results  in  the 
stifling  of  the  impulses  of  human  progress.  Conse- 
quently, the  ideal  government  is  one  in  which  the  mini- 
mum of  political  control  is  found,  and  the  maximum  of 
opportunity  for  the  individual  man.^*^  Hence  it  follows 
that  all  efforts  to  expand  the  functions  of  government 
should  be  discouraged,  especially  where  they  interfere 
with  trade  or  with  property  rights.     For  it  may  be  as- 

» Henri  Michel,  "L'Idee  de  I'Etat." 

10  For  fuller  discussion  on  this  point  see  Chap.  XI. 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       55 

sumed  that  if  free  competition  is  left  to  work  its  way, 
the  elements  of  good  will  survive,  and  the  others  will 
disappear.  There  is  an  order  of  nature  which  will  work 
constantly  for  the  betterment  of  the  race,  if  only  men 
will  permit  its  operation  with  the  minimum  of  interrup- 
tion. Sometimes  the  natural  rights  of  man  as  developed 
in  legal  form  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries 
were  relied  upon :  sometimes  the  economic  theory  of 
laissez  faire  developed  by  the  Manchester  school  of  Eng- 
lish economists,  and  again  the  language  and  spirit  of  the 
Darwinian  doctrine  of  evolutionary  struggle.  In  any 
event,  individual  liberty  and  property  served  as  a  defence 
against  the  encroaching  tendencies  of  the  government. 
As  time  went  on  and  the  specific  abuses  arising  under  the 
industrial  system  were  more  clearly  outlined,  it  was  con- 
ceded that  a  certain  quantum  of  regulation  might  be  nec- 
essary, but  it  was  stoutly  contended  that  this  should  be 
reduced  to  the  very  lowest  degree.  The  hereditary  and 
religious  influence  which  led  English  and  German  Con- 
servatives to  develop  a  program  of  social  reform  met  with 
belated  recognition  here.  Only  at  the  close  of  the  period 
did  the  outlines  of  such  a  course  begin  to  appear. 

Senator  Root  for  example,  showed  his  appreciation  of 
this  situation  when  he  said : 

"  The  individualism  which  was  the  formula  of  reform  in 
the  early  19th  century  was  democracy's  reaction  against  the 
law  and  custom  that  made  the  status  to  which  men  were  born 
a  controlling  factor  in  their  lives." 

"  Now,  however,"  said  he,  "  the  power  of  organization  has 
massed  both  capital  and  labor  in  such  vast  operations  that  in 
many  directions,  affecting  great  bodies  of  people,  the  right  of 
contract  can  no  longer  be  at  once   individual  and   free.  .  .  . 


56  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Accordingly,  democracy  turns  again  to  government  to  furnish 
by  law  the  protection  which  the  individual  can  no  longer  secure 
through  his  freedom  of  contract,  and  to  compel  the  vast  multi- 
tude, upon  whose  cooperation  all  of  us  are  dependent,  to  do 
their  necessary  part  in  the  life  of  the  community."  ^^ 

At  the  same  time  there  was  vigorous  opposition  to  new 
devices  for  the  development  of  democracy  in  the  structure 
of  the  government.  The  basis  of  this  opposition  was  the 
belief  that  the  tyranny  of  the  majority  over  the  minority 
is  one  of  the  great  dangers  that  menace  the  pathway  of 
a  republic.  History  showed,  it  was  contended,  that  an 
unchecked  democracy  would  inevitably  become  unmindful 
of  the  rights  of  individuals,  and  particularly  the  rights 
of  property.  Therefore,  it  is  essential  to  maintain  elab- 
orate safeguards  against  hasty  action  or  against  the  tyran- 
nically minded  majority.  The  extension  of  the  suffrage 
to  women  was  not  looked  upon  with  favor.  Constitu- 
tions should  not  be  too  easily  amendable.  Checks  and  bal- 
ances should  be  preserved.  The  initiative  and  referen- 
dum, it  was  believed,  would  utterly  destroy  representative 
government.  The  recall  of  judges  or  the  recall  of  judicial 
decisions,  would  break  down  the  independence  of  the 
courts,  and  destroy  the  last  safeguard  of  property.  An 
essential  part  of  the  conservative  program  was  the  defence 
of  individual  rights  through  the  courts  as  independent 
interpreters  of  the  law. 

Throughout  the  entire  period  this  group  constantly 
minimized  the  amount  of  economic  distress  and  political 
and  social  discontent  and  on  the  other  hand  the  possibility 
of  progress  through  political  methods.     Movements  in  the 

12  Addresses  on  Government  and  Citizenship,  p.  539. 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       57 

direction  of  fuiidamental  social  change  were  characterized 
as  "  foreign  "  and  "  un-American,"  as  the  work  of  agita- 
tors and  malcontents,  as  the  "  philosophy  of  failure."  In 
the  currency  and  the  tariff  campaigns  strong  emphasis  was 
placed  on  the  prosperity  of  the  American  workingman,  and 
the  economic  welfare  of  the  entire  country  as  a  result  of 
the  existing  economic  and  political  order,  Down  to  1900 
it  was  deemed  sufficient  to  "  stand  pat,"  satisfied  with  the 
economic  and  social  conditions,  as  the  highest  development 
of  modem  civilization,  and  to  denounce  the  dissatisfied 
as  unsuccessful  or  unpatriotic  or  both.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  period  however  this  tendency  was  partly 
abandoned  and  it  was  conceded  that  certain  changes 
were  desirable  and  necessary,  but  that  they  should  be 
made  slowly  and  under  the  auspices  of  the  group  already 
in  power.  Increased  governmental  efficiency  and  broader 
industrial  welfare  began  to  enter  into  the  program  of 
the  conservative  who,  as  a  generation  earlier  in  England, 
began  to  see  the  importance  of  change  and  the  equal  im- 
portance of  making  the  change  himself. 

The  theory  of  Liberalism  also  developed  slowly.  At 
first,  it  was  allied,  as  already  indicated,  with  the  cur- 
rency program  of  the  Greenbackers,  and  later  with  the 
propaganda  of  free  silver.  This  alliance  between  demo- 
crats and  currency  reformers  lasted  for  more  than  a  gen- 
eration. The  democratic  movement  was  also  delayed  by 
the  divergent  policies  and  interests  of  the  agrarian  and 
industrial  elements,  and  by  the  numerous  divisions  within 
each  of  them.  The  Grange  movement  proved  to  be  tem- 
porary in  character,  although  revived  later  in  the  power- 
ful  organization   known  as   "  The   Farmers'   Alliance." 


58  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

The  labor  movement  struggled  for  many  years  with  a 
broad  division  between  trades  unionists  and  socialists, 
with  further  internal  divisions  between  the  socialists  and 
the  anarchists  on  the  one  hand,  and  between  the  Knights 
of  Labor  and  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  on  the 
other.  Out  of  this  array  of  personalities,  factions,  parties, 
policies  and  philosophies,  came  a  more  coherent  program 
of  democratic  action  and  of  fundamental  philosophy,  in- 
terpreting the  needs  of  the  time.  At  no  time,  however, 
and  particularly  in  the  latter  part  of  the  period,  was  a 
complete  agreement  reached,  and  the  clash  of  person- 
alities, principles  and  parties  was  often  confusing  to  the 
observer,  and  always  delayed  the  forward  movement  of 
liberalism. 

The  earlier  Liberals  quickly  sounded  the  alarm  against 
the  political  corporation  and  corrupt  combinations.  That 
the  center  of  the  controversy  would  be  the  industrial 
situation  was  evident  almost  as  soon  as  the  war  was  over. 
Wendell  Phillips,  the  great  orator  of  the  abolition  move- 
ment, promptly  entered  the  lists  against  the  new  enemies 
of  democracy.  "  Land  has  ruled  England  for  six  hundred 
years,"  he  said.  "  The  corporations  of  America  mean  to 
rule  it  in  the  same  way,  and  unless  some  power  more 
radical  than  that  of  ordinary  politics  is  found  will  rule  it 
inevitably."  ^^ 

The  central  feature  in  the  new  system  he  believed 
would  be  the  railroads.  "  Take  a  power  like  the  Penn- 
sylvania Central  Railroad  and  the  New  York  Central 
Railroad  and  there  is  no  legislative  independence  that  can 
exist  in  its  sight.  As  well  expect  a  green  vine  to  flourish 
13  "  Speeches,"  Volume  2,  p.  157.    1871. 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       59 

in  a  dark  cellar  as  to  expect  honesty  to  exist  under  the 
shadow  of  those  upas  trees."  ^*  The  specifics  advocated 
were  the  eight  hour  day,  which  he  defended  at  length,  and 
a  drastic  progressive  income  tax. 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  denounced  in  most  scathing  terms 
the  current  standards  of  business  ethics  and  politics.  The 
disclosures  regarding  Tammany  Hall,  he  said,  showed 
that  the  culprits  were  only  boils  and  carbuncles,  symptoms 
of  general  decline.  "  There  is,"  the  eloquent  pastor  said, 
"  some  of  your  blood  and  some  of  mine  in  every  one  of 
those  thieving  rascals.  Furthermore,  business  has  been 
the  anvil  on  which  have  been  beaten  out  these  superlative 
villains."  The  central  point  in  political  control  is  the 
railroads.  "  We  have,"  said  Beecher,  "  as  much  to  fear 
now  from  the  great  corporated  money  institutions  which 
spread  themselves  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  which  are 
every  year  coming  more  and  more  into  the  command  of 
treasure  literally  uncountable,  as  we  have  to  fear  from 
slavery."  ^^  Let  things  go  on,  he  warned,  for  ten  years 
as  they  have  for  the  past  twenty  and  the  councils  of  this 
nation  will  issue  from  the  directors'  rooms  of  our  great 
railroad  corporations.  It  will  make  no  difference,  he 
said,  who  is  in  the  White  House  —  some  Vanderbilt  or 
Scott  will  be  our  president.^^ 

The  fear  of  the  control  of  democracy  by  the  "  money 
power  "  in  some  form  —  at  first  that  of  railroad  combin- 

^*0p.  cit.,  175. 

1!^ "  Cause  and  Cure  of  Corruption  in  Public  Affairs,  Sermons," 
Vol.  VII,  p.  66,  69.  1871.  Compare  D.  C.  Cloud,  "  Monopolies  and 
the  People."     1873   (4th  ed.). 

^^  But  in  1878  he  denounced  socialism,  labor  unions  and  European 
social  philosophy.     P.  820,  "  Red  Letter  Life  of  The  Republic." 


6o  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ations  and  later  that  of  industrial  combinations  of  vari- 
ous types  —  was  widespread.  Unceasing  alarms  were 
sounded,  warning  the  nation  of  the  impending  danger  of 
corporate  control  over  the  many  by  the  few.  Henry  D. 
Lloyd,  in  his  "  Wealth  Against  Commonwealth  "  (1894), 
launched  a  sweeping  indictment  against  industrial  com- 
binations as  seen  in  the  oil  industry.  ^"^  Washington  Glad- 
den was  likewise  vigorous  in  his  attacks.^^ 

The  connecting  link  between  the  older  Hberalism  and 
the  new  is  found  in  William  Jennings  Bryan,  who  through- 
out his  political  career  struggled  for  democratic  ideals. 
"  The  great  issue,"  he  said,  "  in  this  country  today  is 
Democracy  against  Plutocracy.  I  have  been  accused  of 
having  but  one  idea  —  silver.  A  while  back  it  was  said 
I  had  only  one;  then  it  was  tariff  reform.  But  there  is 
an  issue  greater  than  the  silver  issue,  the  tariff  issue  or 
the  trust  issue.  It  is  the  issue  between  the  democracy  and 
plutocracy  —  whether  this  is  to  be  a  government  by  the 
people  as  administered  by  officers  chosen  by  the  people  and 
administered  in  behalf  of  the  people,  or  whether  govern- 
ment by  the  moneyed  element  of  the  country  in  the  interest 
of  predatory  wealth. ^^  Political  liberty,  he  declared, 
could  not  long  endure  under  the  industrial  system  which 
permitted  powerful  magnates  to  control  the  means  of  live-' 
lihood  of  the  rest  of  the  people.^^ 

1^  See  also,  "  Man,  The  Social  Creator,"  1906.     "  Men,  The  Work 
ers,"  1909. 

^*  "  The  New  Idolatry."    "  Social  Facts  and  Forces." 

1®  Speeches,  Vol.  II,  p.  59.     See  also  pp.  100-119. 

20  Vol.  11-88.  In  his  famous  income  tax  speech  in  1894  he  said : 
"  They  call  that  man  a  statesman  whose  ear  is  attuned  to  catch  the 
slightest  pulsation  of  a  pocketbook  and  denounce  as  a  demagogue 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       6l 

Toward  the  end  of  the  period  there  appeared  a  new 
democratic  movement  differing  in  spirit  and  technique 
from  any  that  had  preceded  it.  The  significant  features 
in  this  new  development  were  the  broader  basis  of  in- 
formation; a  demand  for  important  modifications  in  the 
form  of  the  government^  including  the  Constitution  and 
the  courts;  the  appearance  of  a  more  pronounced  social 
spirit  modifying  the  traditional  individualism,  although 
by  no  means  abandoning  it;  and  the  formulation  of  a 
specific  and  somewhat  comprehensive  social  democratic 
program.  Underneath  it  lay  significant  changes  in  phil- 
osophy and  point  of  view.  It  came  at  the  end  of  a  long 
period  of  desperate  struggle  for  railroad  control,  for  cor- 
porate regulation,  for  the  elimination  of  corruption  from 
political  life,  and  of  sundry  movements  for  currency  re- 
form, tariff  reform,  single  tax,  and  various  forms  of  social 
idealism.  Its  personnel  included  such  publicists  as  La 
Follette,  Roosevelt,  Wilson.  There  came  a  series  of 
statesmen  who  perceived  the  relation  between  the  indus- 
trial problem  and  politics,  and  attempted  to  hew  out  a 
democratic  program  on  new  lines  of  democratic  phil- 
osophy. Thus  we  find  Mr.  La  Follette  declaring  "  the 
supreme  issue  involving  all  others  is  the  encroachment  of 
a  powerful  few  on  the  rights  of  the  many."  ^^  Mr. 
Roosevelt  declared  that  one  of  the  greatest  issues  of  the 
day  was  whether  "  property  shall  be  the  servant  and  not 
the  master  of  the  commonwealth."  "  .We  are  face  to  face 
with  new  conceptions  of  property  and  human  welfare  and 

any  one  who  dares  to  listen  to  the  heart-beat  of  humanity."    Speeches 
1-177- 

2^  "  Autobiography,''  p.  760. 


62  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

we  must  undertake  a  policy  of  far  more  active  interference 
with  social  and  economic  conditions  in  this  country  than 
we  have  yet  had."  Woodrow  Wilson  denounced  the 
union  of  special  privilege  and  political  corruption. 
"  Every  community  is  vaguely  aware  that  there  is  a  def- 
inite connection  between  the  political  machine  and  large 
scale  business.  Were  Jefferson  living,"  said  he,  "  he 
would  see  what  we  see, —  that  the  law  in  our  day  must 
come  to  the  assistance  of  the  individual.  .  .  .  Freedom 
to-day  is  something  more  than  being  let  alone.  The  pro- 
gram of  the  government  of  freedom  must  in  these  days 
be  positive  and  not  negative  merely."  ^^ 

Behind  many  conflicting  programs  and  plans,  there 
was  a  common  instinctive  opposition  to  the  rapid  ad- 
vances in  power  of  the  few  who  were  gradually  gaining 
ascendancy  in  the  industrial  world  and  were  transforming 
their  economic  power  into  political.  This  was  the  com- 
mon bond  that  often  united  apparently  incongruous  ele- 
ments upon  a  theory  or  program.  They  agreed  upon  the 
necessity  for  materially  extending  the  functions  of  the 
state,  although  not  always  upon  the  precise  direction  in 
which  the  extension  should  run.  They  agreed  upon  a 
policy  of  curbing  the  power  of  great  combinations  of 
wealth,  but  not  upon  a  concrete  method  in  which  this 
plan  could  be  carried  into  effect.  It  was  not  clear 
whether  they  desired  to  prohibit  combinations,  to  permit 
and  regulate  them,  or  to  place  them  under  governmental 
operation.  They  agreed  upon  a  policy  of  social  legis- 
lation for  the  protection  of  the  worker,  especially  in  the 
latter  part  of  this  period,  although  the  precise  limits  of 

22  "  The  New  Freedom,"  p.  284. 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       63 

the  plan  were  the  subject  of  controversy.  Among  many 
of  the  Liberal  group  there  was  a  strong  demand  for  the 
governmental  ownership  of  industries  which  assumed 
monopoly  form,  as  in  the  case  of  urban  utilities  and  of 
railroads  in  particular. 

There  was  a  nearer  approach  to  agreement  on  the 
political  program  dealing  with  the  structure  of  govern- 
ment and  democratic  political  leadership.  The  extension 
of  suffrage  to  women,  the  initiative,  referendum  and  re- 
call, more  flexible  methods  of  amending  constitutions, 
opposition  to  any  check  and  balance  system  so  constituted 
as  to  make  reasonably  prompt  action  by  a  majority  im- 
possible :  —  were  widely  proclaimed.  There  was  a  gen- 
eral disposition  to  emphasize  the  urgent  need  of  a  govern- 
ment sufficiently  strong  and  sufficiently  flexible  to  meet  the 
changing  conditions  of  industry  and  society. 

It  is  evident  that  there  was  a  cleavage  between  liberal 
ai.d  conservative  elements  upon  the  question  of  a  structure 
of  the  government  and  the  nature  and  extent  of  its  social 
program.  The  currency  and  tariff  controversies  delayed 
but  could  not  prevent  this.  The  divergent  interests  of 
urban  and  agrarian  workers  offered  a  serious  obstacle  to 
unified  theory  and  practice.  Generally  speaking,  if  the 
farmers  and  the  city  workers  and  the  small  shop  keepers 
were  united  they  ruled,  but  divided,  as  they  often  were 
by  section,  party,  race,  religion,  they  fell.  But  this 
struggle  cannot  be  understood  unless  it  is  read  in  the 
light  of  the  great  social  and  industrial  conflict  reaching 
throughout  the  nation  and  the  world.  It  was  partly  a 
battle  over  platforms  and  programs,  partly  a  war  over 
specific  material  objects,  partly  a  struggle  over  the  pos- 


64  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

session  of  the  ideals  of  justice  and  right  —  a  mixed  battle 
over  the  distribution  and  possession  of  material  goods, 
and  the  precious  justification  of  courses  of  conduct  which 
make  up  the  idealism  of  man, —  the  struggle  of  demo- 
cratic ideals  with  new  industrial  and  social  forces. 

The  labor  movement  also  produced  its  interpretation  of 
democracy  and  social  progress  ^^  in  various  forms.  Of 
these  the  most  conspicuous  were  the  trades  union  move- 
ment ^*  and  the  socialistic  movement.  Of  the  trades 
unionists  there  were  those  who  favored  political  action, 
and  those  who  were  doubtful  of  its  practical  utility.  The 
Knights  of  Labor  representing  the  political  action  group, 
and  also  the  fusing  of  unions  with  others  not  in  the  union- 
ized crafts,  obtained  its  maximum  strength  in  the  '8o's. 
The  American  Federation  of  Labor  represented  the  strict 
trades  union  movement,  beginning  in  the  '8o's  and  steadily 
increasing  in  numbers  and  power. 

Samuel  Gompers,  the  philosopher  and  practical  leader 
of  the  trades  union  movement  for  a  generation,  was 
equally  distrustful  of  political  and  governmental  appeals 
on  the  one  hand,  and  of  Socialism  and  Anarchism  on  the 
other,^^  An  excellent  statement  of  his  theory  is  found  in 
his  presidential  address  of  1898.  He  did  not  expect,  he 
said,  to  wake  up  any  fine  morning  and  find  the  millennium. 
The  trades  unions  did  not  anticipate,  in  view  of  the  slow 
development  seen  in  history,  that  millions  "  will  turn 
philosopher  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye."  In  spite  of  all 
discouragements,  they  would  keep  on  perfecting  their  or- 

23  Commons  and  Associates,   "  History  of   Labor  in   the  United 
States." 
2*  See  R.  F.  Hoxie,  "  Trade  Unionism  in  the  United  States." 
28  "  Labor  and  the  Common  Welfare,"  1920. 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       65 

ganization  and  increasing  their  power.  An  admirable 
statement  of  his  views  is  contained  in  the  following  pas- 
sage. 

"  The  toilers  of  our  country  look  to  you  to  devise  the 
ways  and  means  by  which  a  more  thorough  organization 
of  the  wage-earners  may  be  accomplished,  and  to  save  our 
children  in  their  infancy  from  being  forced  into  the  mael- 
strom of  wage  slavery.  Let  us  see  to  it  that  they  are  not 
dwarfed  in  body  and  mind,  or  brought  to  a  premature 
death  by  early  drudgery,  to  give  them  the  sunshine  of  the 
school  room  and  playground  instead  of  the  factory  and 
the  workshop.  To  protect  the  workers  in  their  inalien- 
able rights  to  a  higher  and  better  life;  to  protect  them,  not 
only  as  equals  before  the  law,  but  also  in  their  rights  to 
the  product  of  their  labor;  to  protect  their  lives,  their 
limbs,  their  health,  their  homes,  their  firesides,  their  liber- 
ties as  men,  as  workers,  and  as  citizens ;  to  overcome  and 
conquer  prejudice  and  antagonism ;  to  secure  to  them  the 
right  to  live,  and  the  opportunity  to  maintain  that  life;  the 
right  to  be  full  sharers  in  the  abundance  which  is  the  result 
of  their  brain  and  brawn,  and  the  civilization  of  which 
they  are  the  founders  and  the  mainstay ;  to  this  the  work- 
ers are  entitled  beyond  the  cavil  of  a  doubt.  With  noth- 
ing else  ought  they,  or  will  they,  be  satisfied.  The  attain- 
ment of  these  is  the  glorious  mission  of  the  trade  unions. 
No  higher  or  nobler  mission  ever  fell  to  the  lot  of  a 
people  than  that  committed  to  the  working  class,  a  class  of 
which  we  have  the  honor  to  be  members." 

From  time  to  time  Gompers  opposed  political  and  party 
action,  fearing  to  rely  too  much  upon  the  power  of  the 
government  or  of  the  entanglements  of  party,  and  con- 


66  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

stantly  going  back  to  the  necessity  of  developing  indus- 
trial organization  and  power»  "  Much  of  our  misery  as 
enforced  wage  workers,"  said  he,  '*  springs  not  so  much 
from  any  power  exerted  by  the  upper  or  ruUng  classes 
as  it  is  the  result  of  the  ignorance  of  so  many  in  our  own 
class,  who  accept  conditions  of  their  own  volition."  ^^ 
Nor  did  he  believe  that  the  tendency  toward  industrial 
combination  could  be  checked  by  law.^'  He  denounced 
both  Anarchism,^®  and  Socialism  ^^  at  various  times,  but 
he  was  no  less  tender  toward  political  parties  and  the 
governmental  system  as  operated.  In  short,  his  theory 
was  that  of  industrial  organization  and  action  rather  than 
political  or  governmental.  For  our  purposes,  it  is  not 
important  whether  this  was  the  expression  of  a  fixed  phil- 
osophy or  of  an  adroit  policy.  At  any  rate,  it  was  the 
practical  working  theory  of  millions  of  working  men.^*^ 

At  the  same  time,  outside  the  ranks  of  organized  labor, 
there  were  many  movements  for  the  amelioration  of  labor 
conditions.  These  assumed  a  wide  variety  of  forms, — 
profit  sharing,  arbitration,  voluntary  and  compulsory, 
modified  types  of  collective  bargaining,  prohibition  of 
child  labor,  establishment  of  a  minimum  wage  and  work- 
ing conditions  for  special  groups,  such  as  women ;  and  a 
multitude  of  ingenious  devices  offered  as  partial  or  total 
solutions  of  the  labor  problem. 

There  was  also  the  socialistic  interpretation  of  democ- 
racy in  terms  of  the  collective  ownership  of  the  means  of 

26  "  Proceedings,"  1898,  p.  15. 

27 /bid.     1899,  p.  15. 

28  Ibid.     1901,  p.  212.    Federation  resolution. 

29/feid.     1895,  P-  65:  1898,  p.  109. 

•°  "  Labor  in  Europe  and  America,"  1910. 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       67 

production  and  distribution  and  reaching  out  toward 
ideals  of  industrial  democracy,  not  always  clearly  defined. 
During  the  ante-bellum  period,  Socialism  had  been  adopted 
by  the  idealists,  by  the  intellectuals,  and  by  certain  men  of 
religious  zeal,  by  leaders  like  Emerson,  Channing,  Greeley. 
But  the  many  tentative  experiments  failed  and  the  leaders 
lost  their  social  point  of  view.  After  the  Revolution  of 
1848  and  especially  after  the  Commune  of  1870,  Socialism 
lost  much  of  its  earlier  support.  Its  chief  strength  for  a 
generation  after  the  Civil  War  lay  with  various  national- 
istic groups,  notably  those  of  German  origin,  and  almost 
entirely  in  the  laboring  class.  Socialism  encountered 
many  vicissitudes  after  the  War,  until  it  reached  a  party 
organization  and  a  definite  stature. 

From  the  outset  there  were  revolutionary  socialists,  and 
evolutionary  socialists.  The  former  group  affiliated  with 
the  Anarchists  and  Communists.  The  French  Commune 
in  1870,  and  the  Anarchist  afiFair  in  Chicago  in  1886,  left 
them  with  no  general  support.  The  evolutionary  social- 
ists were,  as  a  rule,  state  socialists,  believing  in  the  use  of 
the  goyemment  as  a  means  of  general  "  socialization," 
Organized  labor,  under  the  powerful  leadership  of  Gomp- 
ers,  oppc^ed  the  Socialist  party  activity,  and  as  a  political 
force  dttting  this  period  it  was  not  effective.  Its  most 
conspicuous  figure  was  Eugene  Debs,  who  was  not  a 
political  philosopher  of  systematic  tendencies,  but  an  ef- 
fective popular  orator  and  agit  itor.  But  philosophers 
were  not  wanting. 

Socialistic  interpretation  of  politics  did  not  at  first 
make  great  headway  in  America,  Labor  was  not  actively 
interested  in   its  philosophy  or  program.     Independent 


68  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

parties  and  reforms,  together  with  various  labor  move- 
ments, made  heavy  inroads  on  it,  and  until  the  latter  part 
of  the  period  it  made  no  appreciable  advance.  The  in- 
fluence of  Socialism  in  shaping  American  political 
thought  was  considerable,  however,  especially  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  period,  when  Collectivism  loomed  larger  on 
the  social  horizon  and  when  the  general  tendencies  toward 
social  reform  began  to  be  effective.  Down  to  1890, 
Socialism  was  only  feebly  felt,  but  after  that  time  the 
influence  of  the  socialistic  philosophy  radiated  more  and 
more  widely  both  in  the  circles  of  organized  labor  and  in 
the  middle  classes.  Advertised  by  writers  like  Edward 
Bellamy  in  his  famous  "  Looking  Backward,"  introduced 
in  fiction  by  Howells,  and  championed  by  a  vigorous 
group  of  defenders,  it  made  its  way  into  the  thought  of 
the  nation  little  by  little,  particularly  in  the  great  urban 
and  industrial  centers. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  period,  syndicalism  and  indus- 
trial unionism  appeared  in  the  shape  of  the  Industrial 
Workers  of  the  World,  opposing  both  political  socialism 
and  trades-unionism.  They  proclaimed  the  impossibility 
of  political  democracy  and  the  futility  of  all  political 
methods.  They  proposed  the  industry  as  a  whole  in  place 
of  the  special  craft  as  a  basis  for  industrial  organization, 
to  recruit  the  unskilled  worker,  to  abandon  the  field  of 
political  effort,  and  to  substitute  "  direct  action  "  through 
the  strike  and  sabotage.  Their  philosophy  was  much  like 
that  of  the  French  and  Italian  syndicalists,  and  their 
practical  program  was  led  by  Heywood.  In  substance 
they  repudiated  the  methods  of  political  democracy  and 


TYPICAL  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  DEMOCRACY       69 

proposed  the  substitution  of  industrial  democracy  through 
direct  action,  non-poHtical  in  nature. 

These  interpretations  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

I.  The  doctrine  of  irresponsible  industrial  oligarchy. 

II.  The  conservative  theory  of  laissez  faire  and  closely 
restricted  government. 

III.  The  liberal  and  progressive  theory  of  stronger  gov- 
ernment, under  more  democratic  control  with  a  broader 
social  program. 

IV.  The  socialist  program  of  socialization  and 
democratization  of  industry  as  the  function  of  the  state, 
through  political  methods  and  forms  —  evolutionary 
socialism. 

V.  The  trade  union  program  of  industrial  democratiza- 
tion and  social  betterment  through  organized  labor  power, 
without  independent  political  action. 

VI.  The  theory  of  Anarchism,  dogmatically  opposing 
the  state,  per  se. 

VII.  Syndicalism,  despairing  of  political  action,  pro- 
posing communistic  industrial  organization  instead  of  the 
state. 

Of  these  the  theories  of  irresponsible  industrial  Olig- 
archy, of  Anarchism  and  Syndicalism  were  relatively 
weak,  while  of  the  remaining  four  the  Liberal  and  Con- 
servative theories  were  most  widely  held,  with  Socialism 
and  Trade-unionism  in  powerful  minorities.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  period  irresponsible  Oligarchy  and  Anarchism 
declined  as  the  other  types  of  interpretation  and  leadership 


70  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

advanced ;  and  the  Conservative  group  occupied  ground  in 
the  '70's  and  '8o's,  considered  liberal,  *'  laborite "  or 
sociaHstic.  It  is  always  to  be  observed  that  party  lines 
are  frequently  obscure,  that  class  lines  are  criss-crossed 
and  blurred,  that  the  same  person  may  indeed  in  various 
capacities  entertain  different  theories,  or  different  applica- 
tions of  the  same  doctrine. 

These  types  of  interpretations  are  given,  not  as  ironclad 
and  rigid  groups  of  thought,  for  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
the  conditions  were  changing  too  swiftly  to  make  fixed 
theories  possible,  but  as  general  tendencies,  which  should 
make  easier  the  analysis  of  the  political  ideas  of  this 
period. 


CHAPTER  Iir 

THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED 

One  of  the  fundamental  questions  in  a  democracy  is, 
who  are  the  political  people,  and  to  what  extent  do  they 
participate  in  public  affairs?  What  is  the  theory  of  polit- 
ical eligibility,  and  in  what  ways  do  the  eligible  directly 
act  upon  the  government  ? 

The  period  since  the  Civil  War  has,  broadly  speaking, 
been  characterized  by  an  expansion  of  the  electorate  and 
by  the  construction  of  machinery  for  closer  control  over 
the  acts  and  agencies  of  the  government  by  the  voter.  In 
neither  of  these  directions,  however,  has  the  hne  of  ideas 
or  of  institutions  been  unbroken. 

The  question,  who  are  the  political  people  of  the  United 
States,  has  been  answered  in  two  ways.  First  the  lines 
were  expanded  to  include  and  later  contracted  to  exclude 
many  of  the  colored  race.  But  on  the  other  hand,  the 
line  of  sex  exclusion  was  wiped  out  in  a  large  number  of 
commonwealths.  In  the  course  of  the  legal  and  political 
controversy  over  these  problems  the  political  theory  of 
suffrage  has  been  a  topic  of  widespread  discussion.^ 

The  question  of  democracy  as  between  white  and  black 
first  challenged  the  attention  of  the  nation.  There  were 
three  stages  in  this  development.     In  the  first,  immediately 

1  Walter  J.  Shepard,  "  Theory  of  the  Nature  of  Suffrage."    Am. 
Pol.  Science  Review,  Vol.  VII,  Supplement,  io6, 

71 


^2  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

following  the  Civil  War  the  prevailing  policy  was  to  ob- 
literate the  color  line  in  voting.  In  the  second  stage,  the 
ballot  was  taken  from  the  colored  man  in  the  South  by- 
various  methods,  in  the  main  illegal,  and  in  the  face  of 
vigorous  protest.  And  in  the  third  stage  constitutional 
devices  were  constructed  by  means  of  which  the  colored 
vote  in  the  South  was  practically  eliminated,  while  the 
public  interest  in  the  question  was  less  acute. 

The  theory  of  suffrage  during  the  stormy  time  of  Re- 
construction was  not  separable  from  the  war  issues  of 
which  it  was  an  integral  part.^  The  argument  that  in- 
cluded the  colored  man  in  the  electorate  was  based  partly 
on  the  theory  that  suffrage  is  a  natural  right  which  all 
men  are  entitled  to  exercise;  partly  on  the  idea  that  the 
ballot  was  necessary  in  order  that  the  colored  man  might 
protect  himself  in  his  civil  rights;  partly  on  the  belief  that 
this  policy  was  necessary  to  maintain  the  Union;  and 
partly  on  the  hope  that  the  dominant  party  would  be  the 
beneficiary  of  the  colored  vote. 

The  opposition  to  the  extension  of  suffrage  rested 
largely  upon  comparisons  between  the  relative  capacity  of 
the  white  and  black  races  and  the  conclusion  that  the 
negro  could  not  intelligently  exercise  the  franchise.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  the  rights  of  the  state  and  those  of  the 
Union,  party  considerations,  and  the  means  of  preserving 
the  fruits  of  the  war,  were  so  hotly  discussed  that  the 
theory    of    suffrage    was    rarely    given    thorough    con- 

2  Dunning,  W.  A.  "  Essays  on  the  Civil  War  and  Reconstruction." 
Horace  E.  Flack,  "The  Adoption  of  the  14th  Amendment,"  J.  M. 
Matthews,  "  Legislative  and  Judicial  History  of  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment." 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  73 

sideration.  So  confused  was  the  situation  that  at  one 
time  after  a  protracted  discussion  the  Senate  voted  to 
forbid  any  discrimination  on  account  of  race,  color,  na- 
tivity, property,  education,  or  religious  creed.^  We 
ought,  said  Senator  Sherman,  to  regard  it  as  a  funda- 
mental principle  of  our  government  that  all  persons  ar- 
riving at  a  certain  age  are  entitled  to  equal  rights.*  Un- 
less you  show,  said  he,  that  you  are  willing  to  adopt  a 
universal  rule  which  tramples  down  their  prejudices  and 
the  prejudices  of  other  portions  of  the  old  States  where 
they  have  not  adopted  probably  the  more  advanced  rules 
on  this  subject;  unless  you  can  show  that  you  have  dealt 
with  this  question  in  an  enlightened  spirit  of  statesman- 
ship, you  will  be  borne  down  by  popular  clamor.  It  will 
be  said  that  this  is  a  mere  party  expedient  to  accomplish 
party  ends  and  not  a  great  fundamental  proposition  upon 
which  you  should  base  your  superstructure. 

The  chief  champion  of  colored  suffrage  was  the  veteran 
Abolitionist,  Senator  Sumner,  who  flatly  charged  that  the 
arguments  against  giving  the  colored  man  the  ballot  were 
the  same  as  those  against  giving  him  freedom,  and  that 
they  were  made  by  the  same  persons  and  in  the  very  same 
spirit.  "  There  can  be  no  States'  rights  against  human 
rights,"  he  declared.  Alluding  to  the  general  argument 
against  colored  suffrage,  the  eloquent  Senator  exclaimed, 
"  I  have  warred  with  Slavery  too  long  not  to  be  aroused 
when  this  old  enemy  shows  its  head  under  another  alias. 
It  was  once  Slavery,  it  is  now  Caste,  and  the  same  excuse 

'  "  Congressional  Globe,"  3rd  Sess.,  40th  Cong.,  p.  1040.  The  vote 
on  the  Wilson  amendment  was  31  to  27.  The  House  refused  to 
concur  by  a  vote  of  37  to   133    (p.   1226). 

*  "  Congressional  Globe,"  3rd  Sess.  40th  Cong.  p.  1039. 


74  '  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

is  assigned  now  as  then.  .  .  .  The  old  champions  reappear 
under  other  names  and  from  other  States,  each  crying  out 
that  under  the  national  Constitution,  notwithstanding  its 
supplementary  amendments  a  State  may  if  it  pleases  deny 
political  rights  on  account  of  race  or  color  and  thus 
establish  that  vilest  institution,  a  Caste  and  an  Oligarchy 
of  the  skin."  ^ 

Others,  like  Senator  Willey,  of  West  Virginia,  rested 
the  case  on  the  consent  of  the  government ;  on  the  prin- 
ciple that  taxation  without  representation  is  tyranny;  on 
the  urgent  necessity  for  guaranteeing  civil  rights ;  on 
justice  to  the  negro;  on  the  principles  of  human  liberty; 
on  the  spirit  of  Christian  civilization ;  on  the  belief  that  it 
was  better  both  for  white  and  black  to  improve  the  condi- 
tion of  the  black  man.^  A  very  common  view  of  the  case 
was  that  presented  by  Senator  Morton,  when  he  declared 
that  "  in  this  country  there  is  no  protection  for  political 
and  civil  rights  outside  of  the  ballot." 

Eloquent  protests  against  the  amendment  were  made  by 
Senators  Hendricks,  Bayard,  Davis,  Doolittle  and  others. 
Much  of  their  discussion  pugnaciously  centered  around 
the  constitutional  rights  of  the  States  in  the  federal  Union, 
on  which  subject  they  could  scarcely  have  ventured  under 
the  circumstances  to  hope  for  a  majority.  But  they  did 
not  fail  to  charge  that  the  colored  man  was  utterly  in- 
capable of  intelligently  exercising  the  suffrage.  "  I  do 
not  believe,"  said  Senator  Hendricks,  "  that  the  negro 
race  and  the  white  race  can  mingle  in  the  exercise  of 
political  power  and  bring  good  results  to  society.  .  .  . 
I  believe  that  it  will  bring  strife  and  trouble  to  the  coun- 

^  Ibid.    902.  ^  Ibid.    911, 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  ^5 

tryJ  More  violent  was  Senator  Davis,  w^ho  declared  in 
the  course  of  a  debate :  "  Sir,  there  is  not  a  negro  in 
America  who  understands  the  principles  of  our  govern- 
ment. There  is  not  a  negro  living  on  the  face  of  God's 
earth  that  can  understand  the  principles  of  our  govern- 
ment, and  that  is  competent  to  take  an  intelligent  or  useful 
part  in  the  administration  of  that  government."  ^  The 
race,  he  believed,  was  utterly  incapable  of  self-govern- 
ment. The  proposed  amendment  Senator  Bayard  said 
is  intended  to  confer  political  power  on  an  inferior  race  and 
if  adopted  will  cause  the  antagonism  of  races  to  culminate 
in  conflict  where  the  two  races  exist  in  such  numbers  as 
to  affect  the  social  status  of  the  community,® 

The  colored  vote  was  cast  in  some  states  and  was  the 
controlling  factor  up  to  1877,  when  the  Federal  troops 
were  withdrawn  from  the  Southern  States.  After  that 
time  the  negro  vote  was  largely  eliminated,  at  first  by 
various  processes  of  force,  fraud  and  intimidation,  and 
later  by  formal  amendment  of  State  constitutions,  after 
twenty  years  of  struggle  during  which  the  carpet-bagger 
and  the  Ku-Klux-Klan  had  stirred  the  South  and  the 
whole  nation  to  its  depths. ^^  In  1890  Mississippi  began 
the  process  of  constitutional  limitation  of  the  right  to  vote 
which  has  been  carried  on  until  the  colored  vote  in  the 
South  has  been  rendered  almost  ineffective.^^     This  result 

Ubid.  989. 

*  P.  995.     Compare  Senator  Doolittle's  protest,  Ibid.,  p.  loi  i. 

"  Ibid,  Appendix.  169. 

10  A.  B.  Hart,  "  National  Ideals,"  Ch.  IV.  J.  A.  Hamilton,  "  Negro 
Suffrage." 

^^  South  Carolina,  1895;  Louisiana,  1898;  Alabama,  1901 ;  North 
Carolina  and  Virginia,  1902;  Georgia,  1908. 


76  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

has  been  brought  about  by  means  of  educational  require- 
ments, property  qualifications  and  the  poll  tax.  The  so- 
called  "  grandfather  clauses "  were  instituted  and  the 
whites  excluded  by  other  provisions  were  included  by 
stipulating  that  the  descendants  of  those  who  were  voters 
in  the  year  1867  might  be  registered  on  the  poll  list.  The 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  when  strongly  Republican, 
did  not  reduce  Southern  representation  under  the  15th 
Amendment.  At  the  same  time,  the  Supreme  Court  per- 
mitted these  constitutional  restrictions  to  stand.  ^^  The 
annexation  of  the  Philippines  raised  the  race  question 
from  an  embarrassing  angle. 

The  theory  of  the  limitations  on  the  colored  vote  has 
been  stated  with  the  utmost  frankness  by  those  who  have 
stood  sponsor  for  them.  Their  defence  was  the  necessity 
of  maintaining  the  supremacy  of  the  white  race  against 
colored  rule.  The  idea  was  repeatedly  stated  by  po- 
litical leaders  on  the  platform,  in  constitutional  con- 
ventions and  in  special  treatises  discussing  the  race  prob- 
lem, by  Cable,  Murphy,  Page,  Stone,  and  others. ^^  That 
the  colored  man  is  inferior  and  that  his  political  domina- 
tion would  not  be  endured,  were  declared  over  and  over 
again  by  Southern  leaders.^*     Mr.  John  W.  Daniel  said, 

12  Williams  v.  Mississippi,  170  U.  S.  213;  Giles  v.  Harris,  189  U. 
S.  475.  In  a  later  case,  however,  the  grandfather  clause  in  Okla- 
homa was  held  to  be  unconstitutional.  Guinn  v.  United  States, 
238  U.  S.  347- 

13  "  Debates  Louisiana  Constitutional  Convention,"  1901,  p.  2937. 
See  also  Alabama  Convention  Journal,  Address  of  John  B.  Knox, 
President,  pp.  8-18.  Journal  of  Mississippi  Convention,  Address  of 
Judge  Calhoon,  President,  pp.  9-1 1. 

"See  Geo.  W.  Cable,  "The  Negro  Question"  (1890),  also  the 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  77 

"  Whenever  the  Anglo  Saxon  is  brought  to  confront  the 
real  thing  and  must  submit  to  social  degradation  or  the 
loss  of  liberty,  they  will  accept  tyranny  rather  than  social 
degradation."  The  establishment  of  what  was  sometimes 
euphoneously  termed,  a  "  veiled  protectorate "  was 
strongly  defended  throughout  the  South.  Mr,  Murphy 
said,  "  White  supremacy  at  this  period  in  the  development 
of  the  South  is  a  necessity  to  the  preservation  of  those 
conditions  upon  which  the  progress  of  the  negro  is  itself 
dependent.  Democracy,  as  the  ignorant  masses  of  our 
colored  population  rise  to  seize  it,  goes  to  pieces  in  their 
hands."  Mr.  Henry  W.  Grady  declared  that  two  races 
between  whom  a  caste  of  race  has  set  "  an  impassable 
gulf  "  are  made  equal  in  law  and  in  political  rights. 
"  You  cannot,"  said  Senator  Williams,  "  have  any  real 
liberty  without  real  equality,  and  you  cannot  have  real 
equality  without  real  fraternity."  "  Side  by  side,"  said 
Mecklin,  "  with  the  written  constitution,  and  its  demo- 
cratic principles  has  developed  an  unwritten  constitution, 
the  outgrowth  of  custom  and  tradition,  and  organically 
related  to  the  actual  facts  of  race  differences  and  social 
conditions.  This  unwritten  constitution  is  essentially 
white-man-democratic."  ^^  It  antagonizes  the  principles  of 
American  democracy  which  presuppose  "  a  social  soli- 
darity arising  out  of  a  common  ethnic  solidarity." 

Among  the  more  radical  of  the  Vardaman  type  the 

"  Silent  South,"  (1885).  E.  G.  Murphy,  "  The  Basis  of  Ascendancy  " 
(1909).  Alfred  Stone,  "Studies  in  the  American  Race  Problem"; 
Thos,  Nelson  Page,  "  The  Negro,  the  Southerner's  Problem " 
(1904).  Joseph  Le  Conte,  "The  Race  Problem  in  the  South,"  in 
"The  Man  and  the  State,"  p.  349  (1892). 
1"  See  J.  M.  Mecklin,  "  Democracy  and  Race  Friction,"  p.  252. 


78  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

sentiment  in  favor  of  negro  inferiority  was  manifested 
not  only  in  the  movement  for  disfranchisement,  but  in  the 
restriction  of  negro  opportunity  at  every  point  where 
equality  was  approached.  This  was  evidenced  not  merely 
in  the  various  laws  providing  for  race  distinctions,-^*  but 
by  determination  to  limit  the  further  education  of  the 
negro;  by  toleration  of  "lynch  law"  on  a  considerable 
scale,  and  from  time  to  time  by  the  advocacy  of  a  separa- 
tion or  segregation  of  the  negro. ^'^  John  Temple  Graves, 
for  example,  declared  that  "  education  spoils  the  laborer 
and  makes  him  inevitably  the  aspirant  for  social  and  polit- 
ical equalities  which  will  be  forever  denied  him  by  the 
ruling  race.  Industrial  education  will  not  win  where 
mental  education  has  failed."  Whether  or  not  the 
colored  man  should  be  regarded  as  permanently  inferior 
to  the  white  and  consequently  accorded  what  might  be 
termed  a  caste  treatment,  or  whether  opportunity  for  his 
development  should  be  given,  was  freely  discussed.  This 
latter  policy  was  called  opening  the  "  door  of  hope."  The 
danger  of  holding  the  negro  in  permanent  subjection  was 
strongly  emphasized  by  Murphy,  among  others,  who  as- 
serted that  there  is  no  place  in  the  South  for  a  Helot  class. 
He  urged  very  strongly  the  danger  not  only  to  the  negro 
but  to  the  white  as  well  of  attempting  to  subjugate  the 

1®  Gilbert  T.  Stephenson,  "  Race  Distinctions  in  American  Law." 
J.  E.  Cutler,  "  Lynch  Law,"  1905.  "  Legislation,"  said  Justice  Brown, 
"  is  powerless  to  eradicate  racial  instincts  or  to  abolish  distinctions 
based  upon  physical  differences,  and  the  attempt  to  do  so  can  only 
result  in  accentuating  the  difficulties  of  the  present  situation." 
Plessy  V.  Ferguson,  163  U.  S.  537  (i8g6). 

^^  R.  W.  Schufeldt,  "  The  Negro  a  Menace  to  American  Civiliza- 
tion," 1907.    William  H.  Thomas,  "The  American  Negro."     (1901.) 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  79 

colored  man  permanently.  "  To  be  long  busied,"  said  he, 
"  with  the  task  of  holding  a  laborer  by  the  throat  is  a 
confining  and  oppressive  occupation  —  not  to  the  laborer 
alone."  ^« 

At  the  same  time,  vigorous  protests  against  the  political 
subjugation  of  the  negro  were  made,  sometimes  by  the 
colored  man  himself  and  sometimes  by  his  Northern  de- 
fenders, in  Congress  and  out.^^  Professor  Royce,  for 
example,  considered  the  race  prejudice  of  the  white  wholly 
unreasonable  and  merely  a  creation  of  the  imagination. 
"  Trained  hatreds  "  he  called  them,^°  "  race  antipathies." 

By  the  negro  himself  his  case  was  frequently  stated  by 
such  men  as  Kelley  Miller  (of  Howard  University),  in 
"  Race  Adjustment ''  and  DuBois  in  his  touching 
"  Souls  of  Black  Folk."  ^^  DuBois  in  particular  pressed 
with  great  eloquence  the  right  of  the  negro  to  complete 
recognition  in  proportion  to  his  real  capacity.  In  modern 
industrial   democracy,  said  he,   disfranchisement  is  im- 

18  Upon  the  broader  aspects  of  this  whole  question  see  J.  A.  TilHng- 
hast,  "  The  Negro  in  Africa  and  America,"  Publications  American 
Economic  Association,  1902.  George  W.  Williams,  "  History  of  the 
Negro  Race  in  America,"  1883.  George  S.  Merriam,  "  The  Negro 
and  the  Nation."  A.  O.  Stafford,  "  Negro  Ideals."  William  G. 
Brown,  "  The  Lower  South."  Atlanta  University  Publications. 
"  Southern  History  and  Politics,"  edited  by  J.  W.  Garner,  1914. 

18  See  DuBois,  "  A  Select  Bibliography  of  the  American  Negro  " ; 
Library  of  Congress,  "  Select  List  of  References  on  the  Negro 
Question";  "Negro  Year  Book,"  1914  —  with  excellent  bibliography, 
390-417.  "  The  Negro  Problem "  by  Booker  T.  Washington,  Du- 
Bois and  others.     1903. 

20  "Race  Questions,"  p.  48  (1908).  For  more  temperate  studies 
of  the  negro  see  Howard  W.  Odum,  "  Social  and  Mental  Traits  of 
the  Negro."  1910.  John  M.  Mecklin,  "  Democracy  and  Race  Fric- 
tion,"  1914;  R.  S.  Baker,  "Following  the  Color  Line."     1908. 

21  See  also  DuBois  and  Washington,  "  The  Negro  in  the  South." 


8o  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

possible.  In  rapid  succession,  he  pointed  out,  the  negro 
lost  the  ballot,  his  civil  rights,  and  his  opportunity  for 
education.  We  live,  said  he,  "  in  a  land  whose  freedom 
is  to  us  a  mockery  and  whose  liberty  is  a  lie."  Industrial 
education  and  political  disfranchisement  of  the  negro,  he 
charged,  was  an  idea  of  Northern  capitalism  intended  to 
make  easier  the  economic  exploitation  of  the  South. ^^ 

The  contrast  between  the  leadership  of  Booker  T. 
Washington  and  that  of  Frederick  Douglass,  the  great 
champion  of  the  negro  slave,  was  pointed  out  by  Miller. 
Douglass,  he  said,  lived  in  the  day  of  moral  giants;  Wash- 
ington lives  in  the  year  of  merchant  princes.  Contemp- 
oraries of  Douglass  emphasized  the  rights  of  man;  those 
of  Washington,  his  productive  capacity.  Douglass  in- 
sisted upon  rights;  Washington  insisted  upon  duty. 
Douglass'  conduct  was  actuated  by  principle;  Washing- 
ton's by  property. 

The  best  known  of  colored  leaders  since  the  War  was 
Booker  T.  Washington,  whose  unique  life  has  been  traced 
in  his  own  volume,  "  Up  From  Slavery."  ^^  Washing- 
ton's policy  was  to  ignore,  for  the  time  being,  political  and 

22  DuBois  said,  "  I  sit  with  Shakespeare  and  he  winces  not. 
Across  the  color  line  I  move  arm  in  arm  with  Balzac  and  Dumas, 
where  smiling  men  and  welcoming  women  glide  in  gilded  halls. 
From  out  the  caves  of  evening  that  swing  between  the  strong- 
limbed  earth  and  the  tracery  of  the  stars  I  summon  Aristotle  and 
Aurelius  and  what  soul  I  will,  and  they  come  all  graciously  with 
no  scorn  or  condescension.  So  wed  with  truth  I  dwell  above  the  Veil. 
Is  this  the  life  you  grudge  us,  O  knightly  America?  Is  this  the 
life  you  long  to  change  into  the  dull  red  hideousness  of  Georgia? 
Are  you  so  afraid  lest  peering  from  this  high  Pisgah  between  Phillis- 
tine  and  Amalekites  we  sight  tic  Promised  Land?" 

23  See  life  by  Scott  and  Stone,  19 16.  The  Hampton  Bulletin  and 
Atlanta  University  Publications  contain  much  valuable  material. 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  8l 

party  considerations  and  fix  attention  upon  securing  a  firm 
economic  basis.  By  a  proper  training,  he  believed,  the 
colored  people  might  obtain  a  foundation  upon  which, 
when  reached,  they  might  rest  securely  and  build  safely. 
"  The  negro,"  he  said,  "  will  be  accorded  all  the  political 
rights  which  his  ability,  character  and  material  possessions 
entitle  him  to,  but  help  must  come  mainly  from  within." 
The  duty  of  the  negro  was,  he  believed,  to  "  deport  himself 
modestly  in  regard  to  political  claims,  depending  upon 
the  slow  but  sure  influences  that  proceed  from  the  posses- 
sion of  property,  intelligence  and  high  character  for  the 
full  recognition  of  his  political  rights."  He  affirmed  his 
belief  that  the  colored  man  should  vote.  But  in  the 
South,  "  we  are  confronted  with  peculiar  conditions  that 
justify  the  protection  of  the  ballot  in  the  states  for  a 
while  at  least,  either  by  the  educational  test  or  property 
test,  or  by  both  combined ;  but  whatever  tests  are  required 
they  should  be  made  to  apply  with  equal  and  exact  justice 
to  both  races,"  His  policy  was  never  more  clearly  ex- 
pressed than  in  his  well  known  phrase :  "  In  all  things 
purely  social  as  separate  as  the  fingers ;  yet  one  as  the 
hand  in  all  things  essential  to  mutual  progress." 

One  of  the  striking  features  in  the  political  theory  and 
practice  of  this  period  was  the  extension  of  the  suffrage 
across  sex  lines.  The  Fathers  of  the  Republic  had  made 
no  provision  for  votes  for  women.  John  Adams'  wife, 
Abigail  Adams,  had  once  written  him  on  the  subject,  but 
had  received  in  reply  a  series  of  humorous  objections.^* 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  however,  favored  woman's  suffrage. 
The  right  to  vote  had  been  limited  to  men  except  in  the 

2*  Laura  E.  Richards,  "  Abigail  Adams,"  p.  138. 


82  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

State  of  New  Jersey,  where  the  Constitution  makers  of 
1776  inadvertently  omitted  the  word  "  male."  ^^ 

Woman's  notable  part  in  the  Civil  War  gave  her  a 
hearing,  and  immediately  the  demand  for  woman  suffrage 
received  extended  consideration.  First  came  the  debate 
over  the  right  to  vote  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  then 
extended  discussion  in  constitutional  conventions  such  as 
those  of  New  York,  Michigan  and  Illinois. ^*^  In  1878  an 
amendment  to  the  United  States  Constitution  was  pre- 
sented ^"*  and  for  a  generation  the  theory  and  practice  of 
woman's  suffrage  has  been  debated  in  Washington.  In 
the  various  memorials  and  petitions  presented,  in  the 
speeches  made  on  these  occasions,  and  on  the  floor  of  both 
houses,  may  be  seen  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  suffrage 
movement.  In  1869,  the  women  were  given  the  ballot  in 
Wyoming;  in  Washington,  in  1883  ;  in  Colorado  in  1893  5 
in  Utah  and  Idaho  in  1896.  A  temporary  lull  in  the 
movement  was  followed  by  a  renewal  of  interest  after  the 
Progressive  campaign  of  191 2,  in  which  woman's  suffrage 

25  Kirk  H.  Porter,  "  A  History  of  Suffrage  in  the  United  States," 
Chapters  6  and  9.  "  The  History  of  Woman  Suffrage,"  four  vols, 
edited  by  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  others.  Ida  Husted  Harper, 
"  History  of  the  Movement  for  Woman  Suffrage  in  the  U.  S." 
F.  A.  Cleveland,  "  Organized  Democracy,"  Chap.  XL  "  The  Woman 
Suffrage  Year  Book,"  1917,  bibliography,  pp.  193-204.  Earl  Barnes, 
"  Woman  in  Modern  Society,"  1912.  An  elaborate  bibliography 
is  given  in  Margaret  Ladd  Franklin's  "  The  Case  for  Woman 
Suffrage,"  1913. 

28  Horace  Greeley,  proposed  a  delegate  Convention  of  women  to 
offer  suggestions  as  to  subjects  of  interest  to  women.  Mrs.  Greeley, 
however,  was  one  of  the  petitioners  for  suffrage. 

28*  After  the  decision  against  woman  suffrage  in  Minor  v.  Happer- 
sett,  21  Wallace  112,  in  which  it  was  held  that  the  14th  Amendment 
did  not  confer  suffrage  upon  women. 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  83 

was  a  significant  factor,  and  by  19 14  twelve  states  had 
adopted  the  principle  of  equal  suffrage.  In  the  meantime 
school  suffrage  and  various  forms  of  limited  suffrage  had 
been  adopted  in  about  half  the  states. 

The  early  theory  of  the  case  for  suffrage  was  strongly 
presented  by  Wendell  Phillips  in  his  striking  address, 
"Shall  Women  Have  the  Right  to  Vote,"  in  1851.  A 
powerful  statement  was  made  by  George  William  Curtis 
in  the  New  York  Constitutional  Convention  in  1867.^'^ 
In  the  earlier  years  of  this  period  particular  emphasis  was 
laid  by  advocates  of  equal  suffrage  upon  legal  equality 
and  upon  educational  opportunity,  and  upon  the  right  to 
practice  professions  and  to  participate  in  public  activities. 
In  the  latter  part  of  this  period  greater  stress  was  placed 
upon  the  economic,  intellectual  and  cultural  aspects  of  the 
controversy.  Naturally  in  the  later  years  more  attention 
was  given  to  the  practical  workings  of  the  equal  suffrage 
system  where  it  had  been  put  into  actual  operation.^* 

The  suffrage  argument  followed  at  the  outset  certain 
broad  lines  of  approach.  The  Revolutionary  principle 
that  taxation  without  representation  is  tyranny  was  fre- 
quently revived.  Why,  it  was  urged,  should  women  tax- 
payers be  unable  to  express  their  opinion  upon  laws  by 
which  their  property  may  be  taken  while  non-tax-paying 
men  were  given  the  right  to  vote?  More  immediately 
effective,  hawever,  were  the  contentions  regarding  the  legal 

27  "  Orations  and  Addresses,"  i,  179-214;  see  also  'Fair  Play  for 
Women,"  1870,  pp.  215-38.  Compare  the  argument  in  Parliament, 
1867,  by  John  Stuart  Mill. 

28  See  Helen  L.  Sumner,  "  Equal  Suffrage,"  discussing  Colorado's 
experience. 


84  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

disabilitie's  of  women.  The  common  law  theory  of  the 
feme  covert  did  not  accord  to  married  women  the  right 
to  hold  personal  property.  She  could  not  enter  into  con- 
tracts, she  could  not  undertake  a  suit  at  law,  was  not 
entitled  to  her  own  earnings,  and  in  many  other  ways  was 
not  regarded  as  a  legal  person,  and  was  seriously  re- 
stricted in  personal  rights.^^  These  legal  disabilities  were 
coupled  with  the  inability  to  vote,  and  were  held  to  be  the 
inevitable  consequence  of  representation  through  others. 

It  was  also  believed  that  suffrage  was  a  natural  right 
and  one  of  the  inherent  and  inalienable  privileges  of 
human  beings  under  the  laws  of  nature.  This  was  the 
same  theory  that  non-voters  had  employed  in  the  first 
half  of  the  century  against  those  who  clung  to  the  idea 
that  suffrage  should  be  restricted  to  those  who  possessed 
taxable  property,  preferably  real  estate.  At  this  time  it 
was  said  that  all  adult  human  beings  are  partners  in  the 
great  enterprise  of  democracy,  and  all  alike  are  entitled 
to  share  in  political  activity.  This  theory  had  just  been 
followed  in  the  enfranchisement  of  the  negro  and  was 
both  familiar  and  forceful.  It  was  the  argument  that  had 
rocked  the  country  during  the  days  of  the  long  struggle 
for  universal  manhood  suffrage  and  still  carried  with  it 
a  powerful  appeal.^*' 

With  the  rapid  development  of  urban  and  industrial 
tendencies  and  the  serious  menace  to  the  health  and  com- 
fort of  women  and  children,  the  considerations  advanced 
in  behalf  of  suffrage  for  women  were  somewhat  altered 

29  Isidore  Loeb,  "  The  Legal  Property  Rights  of  Married  Parties," 
1900.  E.  A.  Hecker,  "  A  Short  History  of  Women's  Rights,"  1910. 
M.  Ostrogorski,  "  Rights  of  Women,"  1893. 

^^  Merriam,  "  History  of  American  Political  Theories,"  Chap.  V. 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  85 

to  meet  the  new  conditions.^ ^  The  need  of  legal  protec- 
tion of  women  in  industry  was  strongly  urged  at  the  out- 
set and  in  many  states  remedial  legislations  was  obtained. 
With  the  entrance  of  large  numbers  of  women  into  indus- 
try outside  the  home  there  came  new  situations  impera- 
tively requiring  new  types  of  protection.  This  factor  had 
not  been  wholly  neglected  in  earlier  discussions,  but  was 
inevitably  more  strongly  emphasized  as  larger  and  larger 
numbers  of  women  left  the  home  to  take  part  in  industrial 
activities.  It  is  not  without  significance  that  the  Amer- 
ican Federation  of  Labor  endorsed  woman's  suffrage  in 
1886.^^  It  was  now  contended  that  the  ballot  was  neces- 
sary in  order  to  protect  working  women  as  well  as  work- 
ing  men,  in  regard  to  wages,  hours,  and  working  condi- 
tions, particularly  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  unionizing 
or  organizing  of  women  was  found  to  be  more  difficult 
than  the  same  process  among  men.  "  Experience  has 
fully  proved,"  says  Mrs.  Stanton,  "  that  sympathy  as  a 
civil  agent  is  vague  and  powerless  unless  reen forced  by 
effective  power."  All  workers  must  possess  the  ballot  in 
order  to  obtain  legislation  necessary  for  the  adequate  pro- 
tection of  women.     Children,  too,  are  included  in  the 

31  Dr.  Azel  Ames  Jr.  "  Sex  in  Industry,  A  Plea  for  the  Working 
Girl."     1875. 

22  Florence  Kelley,  "  Some  Ethical  Gains  Through  Legislation  " ; 
Edith  Abbott,  "  Women  in  Industry  " ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  "  Industrial 
Emancipation  of  Women";  Rheta  Childe  Dorr,  "What  Eight 
Million  Women  Want"  (1910)  ;  William  Hard,  "The  Women  of 
Tomorrow,"  (1911)  ;  Helen  Campbell,  "Women  Wage  Earners," 
1893.  Abbott  and  Breckinridge,  "  The  Wage  Earning  Woman 
and  the  State."  (1912).  Ida  M.  Tarbell,  "The  Business  of  Being 
a  Woman."  Correa  Moylan  Walsh,  "  Socialism  and  Feminism," 
1917.    Mary  Roberts  Coolidge,  "Why  Women  Are  So,"  1912. 


86  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ranks  of  defenceless  laborers  whose  rights  women  might 
protect. 

The  urgent  needs  of  women  were  also  indicated  and 
emphasized  as  the  problems  of  city  development  became 
more  and  more  urgent.^^  Most  of  the  departments  in  an 
American  city,  it  was  said,  can  be  traced  to  woman's 
traditional  home  activity,  but  in  spite  of  this  as  soon  as 
these  affairs  are  turned  over  to  the  city  they  slip  from 
woman's  grasp.  It  was  pointed  out  that  city  government 
is  to  a  considerable  extent  municipal  housekeeping  on  a 
large  scale  and  that  in  this  process  women  are  intensely 
and  directly  interested.  Food  supply,  water,  sanitation, 
schools,  play  grounds,  are  of  peculiar  interest  to  women 
under  the  conditions  of  modern  civil  life.  Said  Jane 
Addams:  "If  one  could  connect  the  old  maternal  anxie- 
ties, which  are  really  the  basis  of  family  and  tribal  life, 
with  the  candidates  who  are  seeking  office,  it  would  never 
be  necessary  to  look  about  for  other  motive  powers ;  and 
if  to  this  we  could  add  maternal  concern  for  the  safety 
and  defence  of  the  industrial  worker,  we  should  have  an 
increasing  code  of  protective  legislation."  ^*  In  this 
way  urbanism  and  industrialism  are  linked  together  in  a 
defence  of  the  cause  of  woman's  suffrage. 

This  period  also  witnessed  the  closer  examination  of 
character  and  capacity  of  women  as  an  evidence  of  qual- 
ification for  participation  in  the  elective  processes.  With 
the  general  education  of  women,  the  intellectual  possibili- 

23  See  Jane  Addams'  "  Newer  Ideals  of  Peace."  Mary  Ritter 
Beard  "  Woman's  Work  in  Municipalities."  Helen  Christine  Ben- 
nett, "  American  Women  in  Civic  Work."  W.  H.  Allen,  "  Woman's 
Part  in  Government." 

3*  Op.  cit.  p.  207. 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  87 

ties  of  the  feminine  mind  soon  became  evident,  and  the 
brilliant  leadership  of  such  women  as  Susan  B.  Anthony, 
Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Mrs.  Catt,  Jane  Addams,  and 
scores  of  others  was  in  itself  an  argument  of  no  mean 
power.  The  crude  claims  of  sex  equality  early  advanced 
by  Victoria  WoodhulP^  and  others  of  her  school  were 
soon  displaced  by  more  scientific  studies.^®  The  in- 
tellectual traits  of  woman  were  more  carefully  scrutinized, 
and  the  specific  value  of  her  contribution  to  the  joint 
cultural  product  of  life  more  fully  set  forth. 

Lester  F.  Ward,  the  eminent  sociologist,  early  defended 
suffrage  for  women  on  broad  biological  grounds.^^  In 
his  gynaecocentric  theory  ^^  he  maintained  that  the  female 
sex  was  originally  and  is  normally  superior  to  the  male; 
that  the  female  is  the  more  stable  type;  that  control  was 
temporarily  wrenched  away  from  the  female,  but  that  the 
steady  and  inevitable  tendency  is  toward  the  domination 
of  the  female  type.  This  idea,  expressed  in  scientific 
terminology,  has  served  as  a  basis  for  many  who  have 
adopted  his  position. 

Mrs.    Gilman    elaborated    the    doctrine    of    feminine 

35  "  Principles  of  Social  Freedom,"  1874. 

•''*'  Mary  Putnam  Jacobi,  "  Common  Sense  Applied  to  Woman 
Suffrage,"  1894 ;  Helen  B.  Thompson,  "  The  Mental  Traits  of  Sex." 
W.  I.  Thomas,  "  Sex  and  Society,"  1907 ;  Theresa  Schmid  McMahon, 
"  Women  and  Economic  Evolution,"  igi2.  Compare  "  Homo  Sum  " 
a  brilliant  argument  by  an  English  writer,  Jane  Ellen  Harrison. 

sJ^ "  Dynamic  Sociology,"  p.  648,  The  Subjection  of  Women;  also 
"  Psychic  Factors  in  Civilization,"  Ch.  26. 

8* "  Pure  Sociology,"  Chap.  14  (1903);  Compare  W.  W.  Knight, 
"  The  Gynaecocentric  Theory  in  the  Light  of  Modern  Biology." 
Leta  Stetter  Hollingsworth,  "Variability  as  Related  to  Sex  Differ- 
ences in  Achievement,"  in  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  1914,  Vol. 
XIX,  510.    XX,  335. 


88  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

superiority  in  her  sprightly  volume  "  The  Man-made 
World ;  Or  our  androcentric  culture  "  ( 1907),  dedicated  to 
Ward.  That  one  sex  should  have  monopolized  all  human 
activities,  called  them  man's  work,  and  managed  them  as 
such  is  what  is  meant,  she  said,  by  the  phrase,  "  androcen- 
tric culture."  This  man-made  world  she  analyzed  with 
great  enthusiasm  and  acuteness.  She  pronounced  force 
to  be  the  natural  governing  agency  of  man,  while  love  and 
common  service  are  the  maternal  contribution.  Destruc- 
tion is  the  method  of  man;  selection  the  way  of  woman. 
She  contended  that  there  had  never  been  a  democracy  but 
merely  an  "  andocracy,"  and  further  expressed  the  con- 
fident belief  that  all  genuine  economic  democracy  must 
rest  upon  a  free  womanhood.  Here,  in  short,  was  a  de- 
mand for  something  other  than  a  traditional  man-made 
world,  a  plea  for  legal,  political  and  social  equality  in  the 
broadest  sense  of  the  term.  In  this  movement  the  contest 
for  political  equality  becomes  merely  one  of  the  elements 
in  a  far  wider  industrial  and  social  struggle.^® 

Where  women  are  like  men  they  should  have  like  lib- 
erty, and  where  they  are  different,  the  differences  require 
representation,  reasoned  Dr.  Jacobi.*^  The  most  import- 
ant effect  of  suffrage  is  "  psychological,"  the  "  con- 
sciousness of  power  for  effective  action."  This  has  made 
men  in  free  nations  energetic,  intelligent  and  powerful, 
and  will  react  upon  women  in  the  same  way.  The  ballot 
in  short  is  necessary  for  the  expression  and  development 
of  woman's  personality  in  a  free  world. 

39  See  also  Charlotte  Perkins  Gilman,  "  Woman  and  Economics." 
1898.    Elsie  Clews  Parsons,  "The  Old-fashioned  Woman,"  1913. 
<oOp.  cit.  180. 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  89 

But  it  may  be  urged  that  the  government  rests  in  last 
analysis  upon  force,  and  that  this  is  in  the  possession  of 
the  masculine  sex.  To  military  functions  and  the  main- 
tenance of  order  by  force,  women  are  not  adapted.  This 
was  characterized  as  the  "  Rob  Roy  argument."  *^  And 
the  reply  was  made  "  if  women  do  not  bear  arms,  neither 
do  men  bear  children."  "  The  man  who  exposes  his  life 
in  battle  can  do  no  more  than  his  mother  did  in  the  hour 
she  bore  him,"  said  Dr.  Jacobi.  Further,  the  function  of 
militarism  tends  to  decline  and  disappear,  while  the  func- 
tion of  maternity  persists.  Physical  force  as  an  agency  is 
less  and  less  employed,  while  the  feminine  qualities  and 
traits  are  increasingly  adapted  to  an  industrial  civiliza- 
tion, as  distinguished  from  the  militant  type.  Or  from 
the  point  of  view  of  physical  force,  if  this  is  the  test  of 
suffrage,  then  men  not  of  military  age  or  capacity  should 
be  eliminated,  while  women  capable  of  war-work,  or 
possessing  undoubted  physical  capacity  for  hard  labor, 
should  be  included.  Such  a  theory  of  suffrage,  however, 
has  never  been  put  forth  or  applied,  and  if  it  were,  would 
exclude  many  male  voters  and  include  many  women. ^^ 

The  woman's  suffrage  theory  rested  on  a  progressive, 
economic  and  cultural  advance  of  women,  raising  the 
level  of  education,  developing  types  of  organization  with 
recognized  leaders,  sharpening  ambitions  and  ideals. 
Mrs.  Catt  once  said  that  in  1800  the  remonstrants  were 
horrified  at  woman's  learning  geography;  in  1810  at  phys- 
iology; in  1820,  geometry;  in  1830  at  college  education; 

*^  T.  W.  Higginson,  "  Common  Sense  about  Women."     1882. 
*2  See  Jacobi,  op.  cit.    Jane  Addams,  "  The  Long  Road  of  Woman's 
Memory."     1916. 


90  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

in  1840  at  property  rights  for  married  women;  in  1850 
at  speaking  in  public;  in  i860  at  freedom  of  organization; 
at  1870  at  entrance  into  profession;  in  1880  at  school 
suffrage;  in  1890  at  holding  of  office;  and  in  IQCX)  at  the 
burden  of  voting.^^ 

The  demand  for  the  ballot  and  political  equality  was  of 
course  only  one  phase  of  the  feminist  movement  for  im- 
provement of  the  condition  and  opportunities  of  women. 

The  political  struggle  was  perhaps  the  most  dramatic, 
but  back  of  it  was  the  more  quiet  educational  and  eco- 
nomic progress.^^  The  ballot  was  an  instrument  of 
power,  but  also  a  symbol  of  social  recognition,  the  evi- 
dence of  emancipation.  With  the  changed  intellectual 
and  economic  position  of  woman,  came  the  quickened  so- 
cial consciousness,  of  which  the  political  was  a  part. 

At  the  beginning  the  suffrage  movement  was  greeted 
with  hilarity,  with  mingled  amusement,  surprise  and  con- 
tempt. When  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  Judiciary 
Committee  of  the  New  York  Assembly  in  1856,  contain- 
ing signatures  of  husband  and  wife,  they  reported  that 
**  they  would  recommend  the  parties  to  apply  for  a  law  au- 
thorizing them  to  change  dresses,  so  that  the  husband  may 
wear  the  petticoats  and  the  wife  the  breeches,  and  thus 
indicate  to  their  neighbors  and  the  public  the  true  relation 
in  which  they  stood  to  each  other."  ^^  Much  was  made 
of  the  charge  that  suiffrage  advocates  were  merely  noto- 
riety seekers  with  an  abnormal  craving  for  publicity. 
Suffrage  meetings  were  broken  up  at  times,  and  the  move- 

*3  See  Anthony,  "  History,"  IV,  392. 

**  Julia  Jesse  Taf t,  "  The  Woman  Movement  from  the  Point  of 
View  of  Social  Consciousness."     1915. 
*^  Cited  in  Anthony,  "  History,"  I,  630. 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  91 

ment  proceeded  only  under  the  most  serious  practical 
difificulties.  Economic  and  educational  opportunities  for 
women  opened  slowly.^^ 

The  body  of  theory  opposed  to  woman's  active  par- 
ticipation in  the  affairs  of  the  democracy  did  not  develop 
as  early  as  the  philosophy  of  its  advocates.  No  theory 
was  needed,  in  fact  —  merely  the  preservation  of  a  status 
quo.  Custom,  not  reason,  was  the  first  as  well  as  the  last 
line  of  defence.^'^  By  far  the  best  statements,  however, 
were  those  contained  in  the  debates  of  the  various  State 
constitutional  conventions  and  in  the  discussions  of  amend- 
ment before  Congress.  A  notable  argument  was  that  of 
Elihu  Root  in  the  New  York  Convention  in  1894. 

At  first  the  objections  to  including  women  in  the  electo- 
rate centered  around  woman's  "  proper  sphere."  Those 
who  opposed  the  extension  of  the  ballot  to  women  believed 
that  God  and  nature  had  destined  her  to  a  non-political 
circle  of  activity  from  which  she  should  not  emerge. 
Scriptural  citations  from  Adam's  rib  to  St.  Paul's  com- 
mand were  piously  employed  to  show  that  woman  was 

•*«  S.  Yundelson,  "  The  Education  and  Professional  Activities  of 
Women,"  Annals  America  Academy  XXV,  117. 

*''  For  statements  of  the  case  against  woman's  suffrage  see  — 
Pamphlets  issued  by  the  New  York  State  Association  Opposed  to 
Woman  Suffrage;  Helen  R.  Johnson,  "Woman  and  the  Republic," 
1897,  Elizabeth  McCracken,  "  The  Women  of  America " ;  S.  M. 
Buckley,  "The  Wrong  and  Peril  of  Woman's  Suffrage  (1909^"; 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Martin,  "  Feminism  " ;  Edward  D.  Cope,  "  The 
Relation  of  the  Sexes  to  Government,"  1888;  James  Weir,  Jr., 
"  The  Effect  of  Female  Suffrage  on  Posterity,"  in  "  The  American 
Naturalist,"  1895 ;  Henry  A.  Stimson  in  "  Bibliotheca  Sacra,"  1910, 
P-  335-  Compare  the  much  more  complete  argument  of  the  English 
writer,  Frederic  Harrison,  "  Realities  and  Ideals." 


92  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

divinely  intended  for  a  position  of  obedience  and  not  for 
a  position  of  co-operation  or  command.'*^  Religion  was 
invoked  against  suffrage  for  women  by  Senator  Freylin- 
huysen,  who  said,  "  The  angel,  it  is  true,  appeared  to 
Mary,  but  it  is  in  the  God-man  that  we  are  all  alive." 
Some  feared  that  the  vote  of  woman  would  add  to  the 
power  of  the  priest  and  Catholicism. 

Great  reliance  was  placed  upon  the  argument  touching 
the  relation  of  government  and  force.  Women  are  un- 
able to  perform  military  duties,  hence  they  should  not  un- 
dertake the  task  of  government.  Although  in  a  numerical 
majority,  they  would  be  unable  to  enforce  their  decrees  if 
the  male  minority  forcibly  objected.  Physical  power  and 
responsibility  ought  not  to  be  separated,  and  hence  women 
should  not  exercise  any  other  than  an  indirect  influence  in 
political  affairs.  In  1866  Senator  Williams  said :  "  Sir, 
when  the  women  of  this  country  come  to  be  sailors  and 
soldiers ;  when  they  come  to  navigate  the  ocean  and  follow 
the  plow;  when  they  love  to  be  jostled  and  crowded  by  all 
sorts  of  men  in  the  thoroughfares  of  business;  when 
they  love  the  smoke  and  dust  of  battle  better  than  they 
love  the  enjoyments  of  home  and  family,  then  it  will  be 
time  to  talk  of  making  the  women  voters;  but  until  then 
the  question  is  not  fairly  before  the  country."  Others 
held  that  "  in  the  settlement  of  our  questions  by  force 
women  are  only  in  the  way."  Said  one:  "Men  may 
grant  women  anything  but  the  right  to  rule  them,  but 
there  they  draw  the  line." 

It  was  commonly  held  by  the  opponents  of  woman's 

*»  Rev.  J.  D.  Fulton,  in  "  Woman  As  God  Made  Her,"  1869,  sum- 
mons God,  Nature  and  Common  Sense  against  Woman  Suffrage. 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  93 

suffrage  that  the  franchise  is  not  a  natural  and  inherent 
right,  but  a  matter  of  fitness.  It  is  bestowed  upon  indi- 
viduals by  society  as  a  matter  of  social  expediency,  and 
may  not  rightly  be  demanded  by  any  one  merely  upon 
abstract  grounds.  There  can  be  no  question  of  any 
deprivation  of  natural  and  inalienable  rights  of  women. 

It  was  further  held  that  political  interest  is  a  pre- 
requisite of  suffrage,  a  necessary  condition  of  entrance 
into  the  circle  of  the  electorate;  and  it  was  believed  by 
many  that  womankind  was  not  commonly  interested  in 
and  did  not  desire  to  have  the  ballot.  .  In  Massachusetts 
in  1895  the  question  of  woman's  suffrage  was  submitted 
to  women,  who  voted  22,204  for  ^"d  861  against.  The 
men's  vote  at  the  same  time  was  86,970  for  and  186,115 
against.  In  the  latter  part  of  this  period  active  organiza- 
tions of  women  opposed  to  the  grant  of  suffrage  to  their 
sex  were  formed,  and  these  in  many  instances  carried  on 
vigorous  campaigns.  The  substantial  political  interest 
and  capacity  shown  by  enfranchised  women  and  by  other 
groups  interested  in  public  affairs  in  the  later  years  made 
this  line  of  reasoning  less  effective.  Both  the  friends  and 
the  foes  of  suffrage  were  stirring  the  political  interest  and 
awakening  the  political  consciousness  of  women. 

The  chief  objection  to  woman  suffrage,  from  first  to 
last,  lay  in  the  theory  that  natural  sex  differences  have 
set  out  a  separate  sphere  for  woman,  and  that  pyolitics  is 
not  included  within  that  sphere.  This  was  sometimes 
stated  in  the  most  florid  language  of  compliment  and 
chivalry,  and  again  in  terms  of  physical  and  psychical 
differences.  Sometimes  it  was  "  the  hand  that  rocks  the 
cradle  rules  the  world  "  and  again  it  was  the  elaborate 


94  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

terminology  borrowed  from  science,*®  Now  it  was  held 
that  woman's  brain  is  smaller  than  that  of  man;  her 
emotions  dominate  her  intellect,  instinct  replaces  reason, 
hysteria  common  sense.  Again  it  appears  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  equal  rights,  will  be  "  the  first  step  toward 
that  abyss  of  immoral  horrors  so  repugnant  to  our  culti- 
vated ethical  tastes  —  the  matriarchate.  Sunk  as  low  as 
this,  civilized  man  will  sink  still  lower  —  to  the  communal 
Kachims  of  the  Aleutian  Islanders.^*^  Others  believed  that 
women  were  incapacitated  for  voting  because  of  various 
psychological  traits,  as,  for  instance,  idealism  or  emotion- 
alism, both  of  which  were  regarded  as  dangerous  ele- 
ments.^^  Emotionalism  in  undue  proportions  may  un- 
settle the  equilibrium  of  states,  while  idealism  may  be 
unwilling  to  deal  with  the  practical  difficulties  which  con- 
dition all  himian  progress.  If  the  feminine  element  is 
added  to  the  electorate,  the  tendency  will  be  a  profound 
modification  of  our  national  point  of  view  and  ultimately 
our  national  policies. 

To  others,  woman  suffrage  seemed,  as  in  the  earlier 
days,  to  be  tinged  with  radicalism,  and  in  our  day  the  pre- 
cursor of  socialism. ^^  Woman's  vote  is  inconsistent  with 
republican  government,  and  woman's  suffrage  has  been 

*9Dr.  W.  A.  Hammond,  North  American  Review,  137,  137  (1883)  ; 
see  also  W.  K.  Brooks,  "  The  Condition  of  Women  from  a  Zoolog- 
ical Point  of  View,"  in  Popular  Science  Monthly,  XV.  145,  347, 
(1879).  An  eloquent  eulogy  of  "man"  was  given  by  Congressman 
Bordle  of  New  York,  1915.    63d  Congress,  3d  Session,  p.  1457. 

50 James  Weir,  Jr.,  in  "American  Naturalist,"  1895,  XXIX,  815. 

51  F.  H.  Giddings,  "  Democracy  and  Empire,"  p.  214. 

52  See  Caroline  Corbin,  "  Woman's  Rights  in  America,"  holding 
that  the  remedy  for  our  ills  "  does  not  lie  in  the  direction  of  woman 
suffrage  nor  any  other  socialistic  doctrine." 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  95 

allied  with  despotism,  monarchy  and  ecclesiastical  oppres- 
sion, on  the  one  hand,  and  with  license  and  misrule  on  the 
other.^^  "  The  need  of  America,"  it  was  said,  is  not  an 
increased  quantity,  but  an  improved  quality  of  the  vote.'* 
Doubtless  the  radical  tendencies  of  some  of  the  earlier 
advocates  of  woman's  rights  and  the  support  generally 
given  to  suffrage  by  liberal  groups  tended  to  create  and 
continue  this  oppression. 

Others  argued  in  general  that  few  of  the  economic  or 
political  evils  complained  of  could  be  cured  by  the  ballot.'* 
They  urged  that  as  far  as  women  were  concerned  they 
might  be  more  effective  without  the  ballot  than  with  it; 
that  as  far  as  there  was  political  interest  and  capacity 
among  women,  it  might  be  most  effectively  applied 
through  the  exercise  of  the  gentle  art  of  feminine  persua- 
sion, historically  standardized  in  its  methodology.  In  this 
way  the  social  prestige  of  the  American  woman  would  be 
preserved,  while  the  political  life  of  the  nation  need  not 
lose  the  keen  interest  of  such  women  as  are  specially 
adapted  to  governmental  work.  They  contended  that 
wages  and  working  conditions  of  women  could  not  be 
materially  affected  by  the  ballot,  but  depend  primarily 
upon  other  than  political  causes;  that  legal  equality  was 
rapidly  being  attained  and  in  some  cases  more  than 
equality  where  special  historical  privileges  were  retained ; 
that  legislation  for  the  protection  of  children  was  not  de- 

^^  See  Helen  K.  Johnson,  "  Woman  and  the  Republic,"   1897,  p. 

321. 

5*  N.  Y.  State  Assn.  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage,  1894.  Compare 
Gail  Hamilton,  "Woman's  Wrongs,"  1868. 

ss  See  extended  argument  of  Henry  A.  Stimson,  "  Bibliotheca 
Sacra,"  1910,  pp.  335-346. 


96  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

pendent  upon  the  votes  of  women.  In  short,  they  em- 
phasized the  great  importance  of  public  opinion  in  the 
creation  and  enforcement  of  law,  disparaged  the  efficiency 
of  political  action,  and  held  that  the  political  world  was  not 
a  sphere  in  which  woman  might  be  as  effective  as  she  would 
be  elsewhere. 

Further,  it  was  often  said  that  the  participation  in 
political  struggle  will  not  only  be  the  least  helpful  action, 
but  it  may  also  deprive  women  of  the  secure  field  of  extra- 
political  influence  which  they  now  possess.  As  political 
competitors  the  compliance  by  courtesy  will  be  lost.  The 
deference  accorded  the  sex  will  be  difficult  to  preserve  in 
the  new  atmosphere  of  partisan  activity,'^^  and  at  the  same 
time  the  distinctly  feminine  influence  will  be  seriously 
impaired.  Woman  will  be  unsexed,  some  said,  and  in 
time  become  a  different  creature.  With  her  will  go  the 
home  and  the  historical  traditions  that  center  around  it. 
Domestic  harmony  may  be  destroyed  and  grave  evils 
spring  up  as  a  result  of  domestic  neglect  on  the  one  hand, 
or  political  disagreements  on  the  other. 

Briefly  stated,  the  underlying  idea  of  this  group  was 
that  the  right  to  vote  rests  upon  political  interest,  experi- 
ence, and  capacity ;  and  that  the  feminine  sex,  measured  by 
these  standards  falls  short  of  the  mark,  and  should  be 
excluded  from  the  electorate;  that  their  active  exercise 
of  political  power  would  be  harmful  to  the  state  as  a 
whole  and  to  the  sex;  that  they  are  already  adequately 
represented  through  the   family  and  that  their  indirect 

6«  Helen  K.  Johnson,  op.  cit.,  p.  284,  "  In  order  to  be  preserved  in 
bodily,  mental  and  spiritual  freedom,  woman  must  yield  with  grace 
to  the  hand  that  serves  her." 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  97 

inifluence  through  persuasion  is  more  valuable  to  the 
community  than  their  direct  political  action. 

The  general  tendency  of  the  argument  was  toward 
broader  consideration  of  the  place  of  woman  in  the  life 
of  the  community.  With  the  wider  education  of  women 
in  elementary  and  higher  schools,  with  the  entrance  of 
women  into  industry  outside  the  home  on  a  large  scale, 
the  character  of  the  whole  discussion  naturally  shifted 
from  the  earlier  basis  over  to  the  broader  field  of  femi- 
nism. As  woman's  educational,  economic  and  political  in- 
terests and  power  became  more  evident,  the  line  of  theor- 
etical objection  to  woman's  suffrage  gradually  receded  and 
inertia  rather  than  argument  remained  to  be  overcome. 
Universal  education  and  economic  independence  soon  did 
their  work,  and  under  their  combined  pressure  the  theor- 
etical position  rapidly  collapsed. 

During  this  period  there  were  those  who  believed  ability 
to  read  and  write  to  be  an  essential  prerequisite  to  partici- 
pation in  the  electoral  processes  of  democracy.  They  con- 
tended that  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  pass  upon  candi- 
dates or  measures  who  could  not  read  the  language  of  his 
country,  or  of  some  country.^^  They  insisted  that  illiter- 
ates must  be  strictly  excluded  from  the  electorate,  and  that 
the  decision  of  all  political  questions  must  be  reserved  to 
those  who  possessed  the  ability  to  read. 

In  some  states  educational  qualifications  were  required 
of  voters.     A  number  of  these  instances  are  found  in  the 

6TG.  H.  Haynes,  "Educational  Qualifications  for  the  Suffrage  in 
the  United  States,"  P.  S.  Q.  XIII,  495  (1898).  J.  B.  Phillips, 
"  Educational  Qualifications  of  Voters,"  University  of  Colorado 
Studies,  III.    No,  2,  1906. 


98  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Southern  States,  where  this  test  was  designed  to  disfran- 
chise the  negro,  just  as  the  ante-bellum  restrictions  had 
been  aimed  at  the  immigrant.^*  But  similar  restrictions 
were  imposed  in  certain  New  England  States  ^®  and  in 
some  of  the  Western  States.  In  the  territorial  posses- 
sions of  Hawaii  and  the  Philippines,  ability  to  read  and 
write  was  made  a  qualification  for  voting,  although  in  the 
Philippines  this  qualification  was  made  an  alternative  to 
the  ownership  of  property.  On  the  whole,  the  conclu- 
sion was  reached  that  literacy  was  not  an  accurate  test 
of  character  or  of  qualifications  to  act  as  an  elector;  and 
this  conclusion  was  reflected  in  the  constitutional  law  of 
the  time.^^ 

From  time  to  time  it  was  suggested  that  suffrage  be 
limited  by  the  imposition  of  property  qualifications  of 
some  sort.  Appalling  spectacles  of  political  corruption 
frequently  induced  this  feeling  and  sometimes  led  to  spe- 
cific suggestions.  A  notable  instance  of  this  was  the 
recommendation  of  the  Tilden  Commission  in  1875. 
This  body,  including  William  M.  Evarts,  E.  L.  Godkin, 
James  C.  Carter  and  Simon  Sterne,  recommended  a  prop- 
erty qualification  for  local  voting  where  taxes  and  ex- 
penditures were  involved.''^  In  the  early  part  of  this 
period  there  was  a  strong  tendency  on  the  part  of  property 

B8  See  Debates  in  N.  Y.  Constitutional  Convention,  1915,  pp.  290  flf. 
See  Speech  of  Wagner  in  defence  of  the  immigrant,  p.  2923. 

^^  See  Porter,  op.  cit.,  Ch.  9. 

•'o  See  Holcombe,  "  State  Government,"  p.  150. 

*i  Report  of  the  Tilden  Commission  in  "  Municipal  Aflfairs,"  III. 
434. 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  99 

owners  in  cities  to  favor  the  exclusion  of  non-tax  payers 
from  the  suffrage;  but  this  feeling  did  not  find  political 
expression.  Much  later  Albert  Kales  in  "  Unpopular 
Government"  (1914)  advocated  special  property  qualifi- 
cations for  the  upper  houses  of  legislatures.  These 
theories  of  the  electorate  of  tax  payers  were  not  adopted 
however.  On  the  contrary,  the  few  remaining  property 
qualifications  for  office  holding  were  removed  and  the 
tax-paying  barriers  were  leveled.  Even  poll  tax  require- 
ments were  generally  either  removed  or  fell  into  disuse, 
except  in  the  South. 

The  development  of  the  theory  of  suffrage  may  be  sum- 
marized in  this  way.  The  sex  barrier  was  shattered  if  not 
wholly  broken,  while  the  race  line  was  redrawn  in  the 
South.  Educational  and  property  tests  made  little  prog- 
ress, except  when  employed  as  a  means  of  reducing  the 
colored  vote.  The  successful  entrance  of  women  into 
the  fields  of  education  and  industry  gave  their  demands  a 
solidly  increasing  strength,  while  the  difficulty  of  the 
colored  man  in  striking  a  firm  foundation  either  in  educa- 
tion or  in  industry  made  it  a  hard  struggle  for  him  to 
maintain  his  political  or  even  his  legal  equality.  There 
was  little  systematic  discussion  of  the  theory  upon  which 
persons  should  be  admitted  to  or  excused  from  participa- 
tion in  the  affairs  of  the  state.  There  was  some  consider- 
ation of  suffrage  and  natural  rights  and  some  attention  to 
capacity  as  the  basis  of  right ;  but  in  the  main  the  tendency 
was  to  avoid  a  general  and  consistent  theory.  Looking  at 
the  three  earlier  barriers  to  completed  democratic  suffrage, 
namely,  class,  race  and  sex,  it  is  clear  that  the  class  limita- 


lOO  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

tion  was  only  feebly  represented,  that  of  race  fell  and  rose, 
while  that  of  sex  was  first  slowly  and  then  swiftly  re- 
moved. 

Assuming  that  it  is  determined  who  are  the  active 
citizens  of  the  state,  the  next  question  is:  What  is  the 
scope  of  individual  participation  in  the  government? 
How  and  where  shall  he  touch  the  state  directly  ? 

The  direct  action  of  the  voters  in  the  affairs  of  the 
government  was  both  widened  and  narrowed  in  this 
period.  The  tendency  to  increase  the  number  of  elective 
offices  by  transfer  from  the  appointive  list  began  during 
the  Jacksonian  era  and  was  intensified  as  the  work  of  the 
government  expanded.  But  in  this  period  the  movement 
was  decisively  checked.  Additional  officers  in  the  state 
and  local  government  were  sometimes  made  elective  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  this  period,  but  later  the  practice 
declined.  In  the  state  government,  the  increase  in  elective 
officers  approached  a  standstill  during  the  end  of  the 
period,  while  in  many  municipalities  the  number  was  posi- 
tive reduced,  with  the  exception  of  provision  for  elective 
boards  of  education.  In  the  Federal  field,  the  number  of 
elective  officers  was  increased  by  the  Constitutional 
Amendment  providing  for  popular  election  of  Senators. 
The  demand  for  popular  election  of  Federal  judges,  how- 
ever, made  no  headway.  On  the  whole  the  tendency  was 
decidedly  toward  reducing  the  number  of  elective  officials, 
particularly  toward  the  end  of  this  period. 

The  political  idea  underlying  this  new  tendency,  which 
came  to  be  called  the  **  short  ballot "  movement,  was  ex- 
pounded and  illustrated  by  many  publicists.®^  To  them 
02  See  Chas.  A.  Beard,  "The  Ballot's  Burden,"  P.  S.  Q.  24,  589; 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  lOI 

it  seemed  that  democratic  control  is  diminished  rather  than 
increased  by  the  necessity  of  choosing  a  large  number  of 
officials.  They  maintained  that  the  voter  was  confused 
by  a  long  list  of  offices,  with  the  duties  of  many  of  which 
he  was  entirely  unfamiliar,  and  that  he  tended  to  fall 
back  upon  the  party  label,  instead  of  exercising  an  inde- 
pendent judgment ;  that  his  actual  control  over  his  agents 
was  less  and  not  greater.  "  Elaborate  your  government," 
said  Woodrow  Wilson.®"^  "  Place  every  officer  upon  his 
dear  little  statute;  make  it  necessary  for  him  to  be 
voted  for,  and  you  will  not  have  a  democratic  govern- 
ment." Elections,  said  Childs,  the  active  sponsor  of  the 
short  ballot  movement,  must  be  interesting.  Each  elective 
office  must  be  visible.  "  Hide  and  Seek  Politics  "  must 
be  ended.  Power  and  responsibility  must  be  made  to 
stand  out  clearly.  The  principle  of  **  conspicuous  re- 
sponsibility "  of  officers  must  be  brought  into  play,  in 
order  that  intelligent  choice  may  be  made;  and  in  order 
that  democracy  may  be  made  genuinely  effective.  In- 
creasing the  number  of  elective  offices  does  not  add  to  the 
extent  of  popular  control,  but  on  the  contrary  renders  it 
weaker. 

In  municipal  governments,  this  principle  was  gen- 
erally recognized,  but  in  the  state  field  the  change  in 
fundamental  theory  was  far  less  marked.  One  of  the 
most  notable  statements  of  the  short  ballot  idea  was  made 

Richard  S.  Childs,  "Short  Ballot  Principles";  Edna  D.  Bullock. 
"  Short  Ballot,"  1915 ;  "  Special  Libraries,  Select  List  of  Reference 
on  the  Short  Ballot,"  1911;  "Equity  Series,"  15,  156-61  (1913). 
Debates  in  Ohio  and  New  York  Constitutional  Conventions,  1912, 
1915.  Arthur  George  Sedgwick,  "  The  Democratic  Mistake,"  1912. 
«"  See  North  Am.  Rev.,  Vol.  191,  584. 


I02  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

by  Senator  Root,  Chairman  of  the  New  York  Constitu- 
tional Convention  in  1915.^^  The  Senator  emphasized  in 
the  clearest  terms  the  confusion  arising  from  divided  re- 
sponsibility in  state  government  and  the  importance  of  the 
unification  of  authority. 

On  the  other  hand  no  little  opposition  developed  to  this 
new  principle.  Many  believed  that  the  reduction  of  the 
number  of  elective  officers  was  equivalent  to  the  diminu- 
tion of  the  power  of  the  average  voter;  that  every  office 
removed  from  popular  election  was  an  office  removed 
from  popular  control.^^  Vigorous  protests  were  made 
against  what  was  conceived  to  be  an  effort  to  deprive  the 
citizen  of  his  fundamental  rights.  Why  not  get  the  auto- 
cratic idea  at  once  and  be  done  with  it,  it  was  said.  "  Do 
not  the  people  know  enough  to  govern  themselves  and 
elect  their  officers  ? "  "I  hope  I  shall  never  see  the 
strong  right  arm  of  the  people  withered  and  atrophied  by 
the  laziness  that  shrinks  from  exercising  duties  and  bear- 
ing governmental  responsibilities,"  said  the  Attorney- 
General  of  Ohio.®^ 

It  was  charged  that  the  movement  was  aristocratic  in  its 
origin  and  purposes,  and  was  inspired  by  those  unfriendly 
to  democratic  government.  It  is  advocated  by  those  who 
are  willing  to  sacrifice  democracy  to  "  efficiency."  It  is 
fostered  by  Wall  Street,  and  favored  by  the  political 
bosses.     "  Beware,"  said  one,  "  when  you  hear  the  lords 

8*  See  "  Record,"  pp.  3387  ff. 

^'^  See  "  Proceedings  of  Ohio  Constitutional  Convention,"  1912. 

**  See  speech  of  Atty.  General  Timothy  S.  Hogan,  1913,  reprinted 
by  National  Short  Ballot  Organization ;  "  Record  of  New  York 
Constitutional  Convention,"  1915;  pg.  3239.  The  Short  Ballot 
Amendment  was  defeated  in  Ohio  in  1912. 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  103 

of  invisible  government  denouncing  invisible  govern- 
ment." It  was  looked  upon  as  an  entering  wedge,  in- 
tended in  the  end  to  restrict  the  voters'  control  over  their 
own  affairs.® '^ 

On  the  other  hand,  the  direct  primary  added  the  nom- 
inating process  to  the  party  electors'  tasks,  substituting 
direct  choice  of  candidates  for  the  selection  of  delegates  to 
the  conventions.®*  In  this  way  the  party  voter  was  given 
a  much  wider  field  of  activity  than  before.  In  the  same 
group  of  duties  must  also  be  included  the  election  of  party 
committeemen  representing  the  executive  side  of  the 
party  organization. 

From  another  point  of  view  the  functions  of  the  elector 
were  enlarged  by  the  devices  known  as  the  initiative, 
referendum  and  recall.®^  These  extensions  of  democratic 
control  over  legislative  policy  and  the  personnel  of  official- 
dom were  most  widely  adopted  in  cities,  particularly  in 
conjunction  with  the  commission  form  of  government;  but 
they  were  also  taken  up  by  many  of  the  states.  By  19 17, 
twenty-one  states  had  adopted  some  form  of  the  state- 
wide initiative,  referendum  or  recall,  while  twenty-two 
others  had  adopted  some  form  of  these  institutions  either 
for  all  or  for  certain  cities.     In  fact,  there  were  only  four 

^'^  The  plan  "  came  from  a  heart  that  in  its  inmost  core  hates 
self-government,  and  that  seeks  for  opportunity  to  limit  and  control 
it."     Brackett  in  New  York  Constitutional   Convention,   1915,  3303. 

^8  This  topic  will  be  more  fully  discussed  in  Ch.  VIII. 

«9See  E.  P.  Oberholtzer,  "The  Referendum";  Monro,  "The 
Initiative,  Referendum  and  Recall,"  1912 ;  Beard  and  Schultz, 
"  Documents  on  the  State-Wide  Initiative,  Referendum  and  Re- 
call," 191 2;  Munro,  "Bibliography  of  Municipal  Government,"  pp. 
48-60.  A.  N.  Holcombe,  "  State  Government  in  the  U.  S."  Ch.  13; 
Debates  in  Congress  and  in  Constitutional  Conventions. 


104  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

states  remaining,  Delaware,  Rhode  Island,  Indiana  and 
Vermont,  which  had  made  no  provision  for  any  of  these 
new  plans. 

The  referendum  was  first  used  in  adopting  constitu- 
tions or  amendments,  then  for  bond  issues,  public  utility 
company  franchises,  city  charters  and  liquor  laws;  then, 
together  with  the  initiative,  it  was  employed  on  a  larger 
scale  for  all  problems,  with  certain  exceptions,  both  in 
the  local  and  state  fields.  The  political  philosophy  of  the 
referendum  will  be  discussed  in  connection  with  the  de- 
velopment of  American  thought  regarding  representative 
government. 

The  recall  was  applied  most  largely  to  cities,  but  also 
to  states."^**  In  many  instances  it  did  not  apply  to  judges, 
even  where  otherwise  in  use.  The  recall  was  designed  as 
a  check  upon  unrepresentative  officials.  Its  advocates  be- 
lieved that  only  through  such  machinery  could  the  re- 
calcitrant officer  be  held  to  a  decent  respect  for  the  opin- 
ions of  his  constituents.  The  underlying  theory  of  the 
recall  was  that  this  device  made  possible  a  closer  check 
on  the  agencies  of  government  than  under  the  system  of 
fixed  tenure  of  office.  Hereditary  tenure,  life  term,  long 
term,  short  term,  and  finally  indefinite  terms  are  stages  in 
the  evolution  of  public  control  of  all  public  servants,  it 
was  said.  Where  the  processes  of  the  criminal  law  and 
of  impeachment  fail,  and  where  the  pressure  of  public 
opinion  is  insufficient  to  avoid  serious  betrayal  of  public 
trust,  the  possibility  of  recalling  the  official  was  believed 
to  be  desirable.     It  was  contended,  in  fact,  that  the  possi- 

"">  See  F.  T.   Barnett,  "  Operation  of  the  Initiative,   Referendum 
and  Recall  in  Oregon  " ;  E.  P.  Oberholtzer,  "  The  Referendum." 


THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED  105 

bility  of  the  recall  generally  made  its  use  unnecessary; 
that  the  recall  was,  in  the  language  of  Woodrow  Wilson, 
"  the  gun  behind  the  door." 

In  municipal  affairs  relatively  little  opposition  was 
made  to  the  adoption  of  the  recall,  especially  when  coupled 
with  the  commission  form  of  government,  in  which  indi- 
vidual officers  were  given  wider  powers  than  heretofore. 
It  was  there  presented  as  an  offset  to  consolidation  of 
power  in  the  commission.  But  when  applied  to  states, 
there  was  much  more  serious  discussion,  and  particularly 
with  reference  to  judges.  The  chief  consideration  ad- 
vanced against  the  recall  was  that  it  would  tend  to  sup- 
press initiative  and  independence  in  public  office ;  to  pro- 
duce a  timid  and  servile  type  of  public  agent;  and  that 
practically  it  would  increase  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
competent  men  for  public  positions  by  adding  to  the  ex- 
pense of  elections  and  creating  uncertainty  of  tenure.  In 
general  the  theoretical  consideration  of  the  recall  was  a 
part  of  the  discussion  regarding  the  initiative  and  refer- 
endum and  the  representative  system  of  government  in 
its  broadest  terms,  as  well  as  of  the  bitter  controversy  over 
the  degree  and  extent  of  public  control  over  the  courts. 

On  the  whole,  the  theoretical  and  practical  tendencies 
regarding  popular  participation  in  the  work  of  govern- 
ment were  conflicting.  The  basis  of  the  democracy  was 
broadened  by  extending  the  circle  over  the  line  of  sex, 
and  first  broadened  and  then  narrowed  along  the  line  of 
color.  The  electors'  duties  were  diminished  by  the  re- 
duction of  the  number  of  elective  offices,  and  increased 
somewhat  by  the  development  of  the  direct  primary,  to- 
gether with  the  initiative,  referendum  and  recall.     Aside 


I06  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

from  the  race  question,  the  tendency  was  toward  broaden- 
ing the  electorate  and  increasing  direct  popular  con- 
trol over  the  acts  and  agencies  of  government.  The  spirit 
and  motive  in  these  institutional  changes,  apart  from  the 
race  limitation,  was  fundamentally  democratic,  but  there 
was  not  a  general  consensus  of  opinion  as  to  the  theor- 
etical basis  of  suffrage,  or  the  theoretical  limits  of  the 
electors'  direct  participation  in  the  democracy. 


CHAPTER  IV 

LEGISLATIVE  AND  EXECUTIVE  POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT 

During  this  period,  generally  speaking,  the  legislative 
bodies  continued  the  decline  begun  during  the  first  half 
of  the  19th  century.  In  the  individual  states  confidence 
in  the  representative  bodies  was  shattered  by  repeated  ex- 
posures of  the  most  flagrant  corruption  of  their  members. 
Now  it  was  the  "  black  horse  cavalry  "  of  New  York, 
and  again  it  was  the  "  jackpotters  "of  Illinois.  Now  it 
was  the  influence  of  railways,  now  of  insurance  com- 
panies, now  of  liquor  interests,  now  of  several  special  in- 
terests in  combination.  Subservience  to  the  control  of  the 
political  machine,  failure  to  respond  to  the  evident  will  of 
the  community,  frequent  displays  of  incompetence  and  in- 
efficiency all  tended  in  the  same  direction,  namely,  toward 
the  weakening  of  public  confidence  in  the  representative 
capacity  of  the  law-making  bodies  in  the  several  states.^ 
There  were,  of  course,  always  notable  exceptions  to  this 
particularly  under  progressive  Governors  from  Tilden  of 
New  York  to  Johnson  of  California. 

The  state  legislatures,  already  much  limited,  were 
further  restricted  by  the  additional  prohibitions  of  special 
legislation  in  the  new  constitutions  and  by  the  increasing 

1"  Distrust  of  State  Legislatures  —  The  Cause  —  The  Remedy,  in 
Governor's  Conference  Proceedings,"  1913,  pp.  214  ff.  Paul  S. 
Reinsch,   "  American  Legislatures." 

107 


Io8  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

length  and  detail  of  the  constitutions  themselves.*  At 
the  same  time,  in  many  instances  a  popular  check  was 
established  in  the  form  of  the  referendum  as  a  popular 
veto  on  the  acts  of  law  makers,  while  the  initiative  was 
often  added  as  a  spur  to  their  activity.  In  only  a  few 
instances  was  any  attempt  made  to  broaden  the  scope  of 
the  legislatures'  power.  Sundry,  scattering  proposals 
were  made  for  the  application  of  commission  government 
to  the  state  or  the  substitution  of  a  single  chambered  legis- 
lature for  a  bicameral,  but  no  effective  support  was  found 
for  either  of  them. 

In  the  national  government  the  period  opened  with  the 
complete  supremacy  of  Congress  over  the  unpopular  Pres- 
ident Johnson,  culminating  in  the  failure  to  impeach  him 
by  only  one  vote.  During  this  time  the  legislative  body 
unquestionably  was  closer  to  the  sentiment  of  the  nation 
than  was  the  executive.  But  the  congressional  scandals 
of  the  '70's,  notably  that  of  the  Credit  Mobilier,  shat- 
tered public  confidence  in  the  impartiality  of  that  body.^ 
Later  with  the  appearance  on  the  field  of  stronger  and 
more  vigorous  rulers,  such  as  Cleveland,  Roosevelt  and 
Wilson,  this  temporary  predominance  passed  away  and 
Congress  receded  into  the  background.  The  Senate  in 
particular  during  this  time  lost  much  of  its  public  influ- 
ence because  of  the  frequent  corruption  observed  in  the 
indirect  election  of  its  members,  and  the  widespread  feel- 

2  Charles  C.  Binney,  "  Restrictions  Upon  Local  and  Special  Legis- 
lation in  State  Constitutions,"  1894. 

' "  Report  of  Committee  on  Credit  Mobilier,"  3rd  Session.  42nd 
Congress,  1872-3 ;  Senator  Hoar's  speech  Mch.  6,  1876,  on  extent  of 
corruption,  cited  by  Rhodes,  op.  cit.,  VII,  193. 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  109 

ing  that  the  senators  were  subservient  to  the  wishes  of 
property  and  privilege  rather  than  the  mass  of  the  com- 
munity. At  one  time,  indeed,  the  Senate  was  termed 
"  the  millionaire's  club  "  because  of  the  considerable  num- 
ber of  wealthy  men  in  that  body.  The  demand  for  direct 
election  of  United  States  Senators  was  presented  as  a 
remedy  for  this  situation,  and  after  twenty  years'  battle 
was  finally  achieved.  The  persistent  opposition  of  the 
senators  to  the  constitutional  amendment  providing  for 
their  direct  election,  only  added  fuel  to  the  flames  of  pop- 
ular indignation.  The  final  passage  and  ratification  of 
this  amendment  making  the  senators  directly  responsible 
to  the  voters  of  their  states,  was  designed  to  re-establish 
the  upper  house  in  public  esteem  and  confidence. 

The  power  of  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  great  even  in 
the  days  of  Henry  Clay,  was  developed  during  this  period, 
but  this  great  authority  came  to  be  linked  with  reactionary 
tendencies,  and  occasioned  a  great  popular  protest  which 
finally  found  expression  in  the  overthrow  of  the  speaker, 
if  not  of  the  system. 

On  the  whole,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  legislative 
branch  of  the  Federal  government  materially  improved 
its  strategic  position.  The  executive  tended  constantly 
and  steadily,  whenever  in  strong  hands,  to  overshadow 
and  direct  it.  The  appeal  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  over  the  head  of  the  legislature  to  the  people,  was 
a  simple  and  effective  procedure,  and  was  not  infrequently 
employed,  especially  in  the  regime  of  Roosevelt.  The 
general  tendency  of  the  time  was  for  the  role  of  leader- 
ship to  pass  from  the  legislative  body  to  the  executive. 

Strangely  enough,  in  the  cities  alone  did  the  legislative 


no  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

branch  of  the  government  hold  its  own.  During  the 
years  immediately  following  the  Civil  War  the  city  coun- 
cil reached  its  lowest  point  in  incompetence  and  boss-rule. 
The  sordid  stories  of  betrayal  of  public  trust  echoed  from 
one  coast  to  the  other.  So  serious  and  exasperating 
were  the  conditions,  that  the  public  mind  was  finally  ready 
for  the  most  drastic  measures.  The  old  bicameral  coun- 
cils were  abolished  in  almost  all  instances,  provision  was 
made  for.  the  election  of  the  council  at  large,  the  initiative 
referendum  and  recall  were  widely  adopted,  and  finally, 
in  a  great  number  of  cities,  the  so-called  "  commission 
government  "  was  installed.  Under  this  system  a  small 
legislative  body,  usually  of  five  members,  elected  at  large, 
was  made  the  responsible  governing  body  of  the  munici- 
pality. It  is  true  that  in  some  instances,  the  commission 
possessed  both  legislative  and  executive  powers,  but  the 
strong  tendency  was  toward  legislative  and  supervisory 
functions,  rather  than  administrative.  The  appearance 
of  the  city  manager  plan  is  in  point  here.  In  this  way 
the  revival  of  the  legislative  body  was  brought  about  in 
many  of  the  American  cities.  In  many  others,  however, 
the  municipal  legislature  was  wholly  overshadowed  by  the 
executive,  and  even  its  financial  powers  were  seriously 
curtailed  as  in  New  York  and  Boston,  and  in  many  of  the 
larger  cities  the  executive  was  more  trusted  than  the  legis- 
lative branch  of  the  government. 

During  this  time,  there  may  be  seen  the  beginnings  of 
a  constructive  legislative  policy,  in  the  form  of  more 
scientific  methods  of  legislation.  In  relation  to  the  en- 
ormous amount  of  current  legislation  in  the  United 
States,  there  had  been  relatively  little  reliable  informa- 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  111 

tion  on  which  to  base  laws  and  relatively  little  atten- 
tion was  given  to  precision  in  the  form  of  the  law.  This 
frequent  carelessness  as  to  facts,  and  indifference  as  to 
form  of  law  constantly  weakened  the  legislative  prestige 
and  incidentally  tended  to  enhance  the  power  of  the  courts. 
During  this  period  there  began  a  determined  effort  to 
provide  a  more  effective  basis  for  legislation.  This  took 
the  institutional  shape  of  the  legislative  reference 
bureau,  an  organization  for  the  purpose  of  systemati- 
cally securing  comprehensive  information  and  so  analyz- 
ing and  digesting  it  as  to  make  the  facts  available  for  the 
purposes  of  the  law  makers.  A  beginning  was  made  with 
the  "Legislative  Bulletin"  of  New  York  State.  The 
movement  achieved  a  notable  success  in  Wisconsin  under 
the  leadership  of  McCarthy.^  The  idea  spread  rapidly  to 
other  states  and  was  also  incorporated  in  the  policy  of 
many  cities.  Many  systematized  efforts  were  made  by  the 
various  branches  of  the  Federal  government,  where  how- 
ever administrative  initiative  and  technique  were  more 
noticeable,  until  it  may  fairly  be  said  without  too  great 
optimism  that  a  much  more  solid  basis  of  information 
was  placed  under  the  acts  of  the  various  law-making 
bodies. 

Notable  assistance  was  ■  also  rendered  to  legislative 
bodies  by  the  appointment  of  special  commissions  of 
various  kinds  for  investigating  and  reporting  upon  specific 
topics,  as,  for  example,  the  subjects  of  taxation,  industrial 
and  social  legislation  and  education.  Many  inquiries 
were  of  indifferent  value,  some  were  outright  "  junkets," 

*  See  C.  H.  McCarthy,  "  The  Wisconsin  Idea  " ;  Frederick  Howe, 
"  Wisconsin,  An  Experiment  in  Democracy." 


112  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

but  many  of  them  furnished  a  solid  basis  for  constructive 
legislation.  In  the  absence  of  expert  administrative  ini- 
tiative, much  was  accomplished  toward  enlightening  the 
electorate  and  the  law-maker,  and  also  toward  drafting 
of  statutes. 

Furthermore,  progress  was  made  in  the  development 
of  definite  canons  of  legislation.  Ernst  Freund,  in  his 
"  Standards  of  American  Legislation,"  undertook  to  out- 
line a  constructive  policy.  Basing  his  conclusions  upon 
a  study  of  legal  history  in  the  United  States,  and  compari- 
sons of  the  methods  employed  in  foreign  countries,  Freund 
outlined  certain  principles  of  legislation.  These  were 
grouped  under  two  main  heads :  "  Correlation  "  and 
"  Standardization."  Under  "  Standardization  "  he  in- 
cluded conformity  to  scientific  laws,  standardization  of 
juristic  data,  definite  method  in  reaching  determinations, 
and  stability  of  policy.  He  recommended  as  specific  aids 
to  legislation,  the  preparation  of  bills  by  special  commis- 
sions, the  delegation  of  power  to  administrative  com- 
missions, the  organization  of  drafting  bureaus  and  the 
formulation  of  so-called  "  standing  clauses."  ^  Here  is 
seen  the  beginning  of  legislative  technique,  aiming  at 
greater  deliberateness  in  the  process  of  law-making,  and 
greater  accuracy  in  the  expression  of  the  legislator's  will. 
While  it  cannot  be  said  that  legislation,  broadly  speaking, 
was  placed  upon  a  solid  foundation,  either  in  material 
or  in  method,  yet  it  is  clear  that  the  existence  of  a  problem 
was  realized  and  a  start  was  made  toward  the  solution. 
If  the  way  was  not  found,  there  was  at  least  a  realization 

'  See  Chap.  7,  on  constructive  features.  Cf .  Chester  Lloyd  Jones, 
"Statute  Law  Making,"   1912. 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  1 13 

that  the  way  was  lost  and  an  effort  was  made  to  find  a 
trail. 

It  may  be  fairly  said,  then,  that  during  this  period 
the  legislative  body  as  compared  with  the  other  branches 
of  the  government  did  not  gain  in  power  or  prestige. 
With  the  exception  of  commissions  established  in  numer- 
ous cities,  the  legislative  branch  of  the  government  was 
rarely  the  chief  beneficiary  of  the  people's  confidence. 
Frequent  revelations  of  bribery,  of  boss  control,  of  in- 
fluence by  special  interests,  of  ignorance,  incompetence 
and  carelessness,  made  it  difficult  for  public  opinion  to 
lean  heavily  upon  the  legislature. 

Yet  with  all  these  sweeping  qualifications,  the  broad 
fact  must  not  be  ignored  that  never  was  there  a  larger 
quantity  of  legislation  placed  upon  the  statute  books  at 
any  period  in  history  than  during  the  last  fifty  years  of 
American  political  life.  Notwithstanding  the  suspicion 
of  the  law  maker,  there  was  a  widespread  confidence  in 
the  desirability  and  efficacy  of  law,  and  a  general  willing- 
ness to  embark  upon  the  interesting  enterprise  of  law 
making.  If  Americans  had  lost  faith  in  legislators  they 
still  retained  their  trust  in  laws.  Individual  citizens,  and 
countless  committees  of  citizens,  leagues,  associations  and 
societies  of  all  types  investigated,  agitated  and  drafted 
bills,  organized  lobbies,  and  vigorously  pursued  their 
several  propagandas  of  law.  And  the  law  makers,  often 
uninformed,  frequently  reluctant,  always  overworked, 
yielded  alternately  to  the  pressure  of  overwhelming  pub- 
lic demand  and  to  the  lure  of  irresistible  personal  or  politi- 
cal gain.  Public  opinion,  the  real  governing  power, 
would  not  be  denied,  and  regardless  of  personnel,  of  par- 


114  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ties,  factions,  machines,  bosses,  interests,  the  great  flood 
went  its  way. 

A  notable  development  of  the  machinery  of  government 
was  the  change  from  the  indirect  election  of  United 
States  Senators  by  state  legislatures  to  direct  choice  by 
the  state  electorate.^  President  Andrew  Johnson  strongly 
advocated  this  change  in  1868,  but  for  obvious  reasons 
his  recommendation  passed  by  with  little  recognition.  In 
the  seventies  and  eighties,  however,  a  steadily  increasing 
demand  was  made  for  direct  election  of  senators,'^  and  in 
1893  ^  constitutional  amendment  for  this  purpose  passed 
the  house  of  representatives  by  a  two-thirds  vote.  It 
was  not  until  19 13,  however,  that  the  amendment  was 
finally  adopted  by  the  senate.  By  that  time  practically 
two-thirds  of  the  states  had  declared  their  preference  for 
the  change,  and  a  constitutional  amendment  or  convention 
was  imminent.  Furthermore,  in  various  states,  led  by 
Oregon,  advisory  popular  votes  were  rapidly  coming  into 
use,  and  tending  to  render  the  legislative  act  merely  a 
ratification  of  popular  vote.  It  was  clear  that  the  end 
of  indirect  election  was  in  sight. 

The  advocates  of  direct  election  of  senators  pointed  to 
the  frequent  deadlocks  in  state  legislatures  over  the  choice 
of  United  States  Senators,  and  the  importance  of  freeing 
the  legislatures  from  the  demoralization  and  delay  caused 
by  the  selection  of  these  officers ;  to  the  influence  of  party 
bosses  in  the  choice  of  senators ;  and  the  scandalous  cor- 

^  See  A.  P.  C.  Griffin,  "  List  of  References  on  the  Popular  Elec- 
tion of  Senators,"  Library  of  Congress,  1904;  George  H,  Haynes, 
"  The  Election  of  Senators,"  Appx.  3,  p.  277. 

'  See  Prohibition  Party  Platform,  1876 ;  Union  Labor  Party,  in 
1888;  People's  Party,  in  1892. 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  I15 

ruption  accompanying  senatorial  elections  in  many  in- 
stances.* They  charged  that  the  senate  had  deteriorated 
from  its  earlier  standards  and  had  become  a  rendezvous 
for  the  rich;  that  it  failed  to  interpret  the  democratic 
sentiment  of  the  nation ;  and  that  it  reflected  the  interests 
and  opinions  of  the  few  as  against  the  many.  Unques- 
tionably, the  greatest  force  in  the  argument  for  the  direct 
election  of  senators  came  from  the  general  conviction  that 
the  senate  was  too  far  removed  from  popular  control, 
and  was  too  closely  affiliated  with  political  machines  and 
special  interests  to  represent  effectively  the  democratic 
national  sentiment.  This  feeling  appeared  in  the  very 
earliest  arguments  for  direct  election  and  continued 
throughout  a  struggle  which  extended  over  a  quarter  of 
a  cerktury. 

The  defense  of  the  original  method  of  electing  sena- 
tors was  adroitly  conducted  by  Senator  Hoar  and  others 
of  his  colleagues,  including  Senators  Chandler,  Edmonds, 
Root,  and  D'epew.  They  believed  that  direct  election,  by 
throwing  into  sharper  relief  the  contrast  between  the  vote 
of  the  small  states  and  that  of  the  larger  ones,  would 
ultimately  destroy  the  equal  representation  of  the  states 
in  the  senate  and  upset  the  federal  equilibrium.  They 
feared  that  the  conservative  influence  of  the  senate  would 
be  weakened  and  perhaps  ended  if  senators  were  made 
responsible  directly  to  the  voters  of  their  states, —  that 

8  A  history  of  direct  election  of  senators  and  a  statement  of 
arguments  for  and  against  is  given  in  Haynes',  op.  cit.  Haynes 
classified  the  members  of  the  United  States  Senate  in  1906,  as  fol- 
lows :  Representing  Statesmanship,  17 ;  Rank  and  File,  23 ;  Wealth, 
14;  Political  Manipulation,  16;  Accident,  2;  Past  Services,  3;  Un- 
classified,  15. 


Il6  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  senate  would  echo  the  passions  of  the  people  rather 
than  reflect  their  sober  second  thought.  For  a  hundred 
years,  said  Senator  Hoar,  "  Senators,  while  they  have  re- 
sisted popular  passions  of  the  hour,  have  lead,  represented, 
guided,  obeyed  and  made  effective  the  deliberate  will  of 
a  free  people."  The  most  valuable  features  of  the  con- 
stitution, it  was  believed,  were  the  indirect  election  of 
the  senate  and  the  indirect  choice  of  the  supreme  court. 
The  direct,  immediate,  hasty  action  of  any  mass  of  indi- 
viduals on  earth,  it  was  said,  "  is  the  pathway  to  ruin 
and  not  to  safety."  It  was  freely  predicted  that  the  next 
step  would  be  the  direct  election  of  the  president  and  of 
federal  judges,  "  by  the  brute  force  of  numbers."  Sen- 
ators, furthermore,  strongly  opposed  any  fundamental 
change  in  the  constitution.  If  there  is  social  unrest,  said 
they,  then  that  fact  itself  is  a  reason  why  no  change  should 
be  made  while  the  public  is  in  that  frame  of  mind." 
But  the  distinguished  character  of  the  senators  and  the 
eloquence  of  the  argument,  did  not  prevail.  They  only 
dammed  the  stream,  until  the  mass-weight  of  long  delayed 
public  demand  broke  through  the  wall. 

The  theory  of  democratic  representation  itself  was 
widely  discussed  during  this  time.  The  two  most  im- 
portant phases  of  discussion  were  proportional  represen- 
tation and  direct  legislation. 

The  proportional  representation  movement  began  im- 
mediately after  the  close  of  the  War,  and  continued  inter- 
mittently throughout  the  entire  period.^®     The  contem- 

•See  Sen.  Root,  "The  Direct  Election  of  U.  S.  Senators,"  191 1, 
"Addresses,"  257-83. 
1*  See  "  Report  from  the  Select  Committee  on  Representative  Re- 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  117 

porary  English  movement  attracted  much  attention  in 
America  and  the  writings  of  John  Stuart  Mill,^^  who  spon- 
sored proportional  representation  in  England,  and  of 
Thomas  Hare  were  widely  read  here.^^  At  first  a  num- 
ber of  cities  adopted  some  form  of  limited  or  cumulative 
vote.^^  Illinois  was  the  most  conspicuous  example,  in  the 
constitution  of  1870.  In  1872,  the  New  York  legisla- 
ture passed  a  bill  for  the  cumulative  vote  for  the  election 
of  aldermen  in  New  York  city,  which  was  vetoed  by  the 
Governor.  Later  a  limited  vote  plan  was  adopted,  but 
subsequently  abandoned.  In  Pennsylvania  the  limited 
vote  was  employed  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  under  the 
constitution  of  1874. 

In  the  '90's  the  theory  of  proportional  representation 
was  revived  and  a  new  movement  begun.  The  Propor- 
tional Representation  League  was  organized  in  that  year 
and  an  energetic  campaign  begun  throughout  the  country. 
After  a  time  the  tendency  died  down,  and  was  then 
reawakened  in  connection  with  the  reorganization  of  city 
government.     Recently  a  number  of  municipalities  have 

form."    U.  S.  Senate,  March  2,  1869,  Appendix,  3rd.  Sess.  40th  Cong, 
p.  268. 
11 "  Considerations  on  Representative  Government,"  1861. 

12  Election  of  Representatives,  Parliamentary  and  Municipal,  1859. 
For  a  history  of  this  movement  see  John  R.  Commons,  "  Propor- 
tional Representation,"  ist  Ed.  1896,  Chap.  X.  Also  John  H. 
Humphreys,  "  Proportional  Representation." 

13  Thomas  Gilpin,  "  On  The  Representation  of  Minorities  of  Elec- 
tors to  Act  with  the  Majority  in  Elected  Assemblies,"  1844;  Simon 
Sterne,  "  On  Representative  Government,"  1871 ;  Salem  Dutcher, 
"  Minority  or  Proportional  Representation,"  1872 ;  C.  K.  Buckalew, 
"  Proportional  Representation,"  1872 ;  Thomas  D.  Ingram,  "  Repre- 
sentative Government,"  1884.    See  also  the  files  of  "  Equity." 


Il8  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

adopted  some  one  of  the  several  forms  of  proportional 
representation  or  preferential  voting  as  a  part  of  a  city 
charter. 

The  argument  in  favor  of  the  new  system  was  based 
partly  on  the  abuses  arising  from  political  gerrymanders 
of  districts,  and  partly  on  the  broader  theory  that  repre- 
sentation of  other  than  territorial  groups  is  desirable.  It 
was  important,  it  was  said,  to  represent  not  merely  geo- 
graphic areas  but  certain  groups  or  classes  of  voters  hav- 
ing certain  views  in  common.  Such  a  process  will  tend 
to  bring  together  in  the  law-making  body  more  truly 
typical  elements  than  purely  territorial  districts.  It  would 
tend  to  assemble  the  direct  representatives  of  various  in- 
terests and  open  the  way  for  the  comparison  and  legisla- 
tive compromise  of  views. ^* 

Further,  it  was  maintained  that  proportional  represen- 
tation would  enlarge  the  voting  power  of  the  elector  by 
giving  him  a  wider  range  of  choice,  particularly  in  those 
systems  where  first  and  second  choice  are  permitted.  It 
would  enable  a  citizen,  so  the  theory  ran,  to  use  his  vote 
as  in  a  convention,  where  the  selection  was  not  made  on 
the  first  ballot.  It  would  further  tend  to  avoid  elections 
by  a  minority  only. 

There  was  no  sharply  formulated  body  of  objections  to 
proportional  representation.  The  early  experiments  with 
cumulative  voting  had  not  proven  successful,  and  al- 
though the  new  principle  was  widely  different  the  various 
systems  were  likely  to  be  roughly  lumped  together  by  the 

^*  The  whole  subject  was  discussed  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, June  24,  1870:  also  Dec.  12-14,  1871 ;  also  in  various  state  con- 
stitutional conventions  of  this  period. 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  II9 

voter. ^'^  Generally  speaking,  the  theory  prevailed  that  ter- 
ritorial or  geographical  suffrage  on  the  district  basis  is 
preferable  to  any  other  type  of  what  were  sometimes 
called  "  fancy  franchises."  In  the  urban  communities, 
where  the  system  of  ward  politics  had  aroused  very  gen- 
eral distrust  of  local  representation,  there  was  a  warm 
welcome  for  a  new  plan :  but  election  at  large  was  the 
alternative  adopted.  There  was  not  much  argument 
against  the  proportional  system.  The  public  attitude 
might  be  more  properly  characterized  as  that  of  indiffer- 
ence toward  it.  Long  accustomed  to  the  territorial  sys- 
tem, it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  there  would  be  any 
sudden  change  in  the  political  theory  of  representation. 

The  battle  over  direct  legislation  aroused  much  wider 
and  deeper  interest.  During  the  earlier  part  of  this 
period,  little  thought  was  given  to  this  topic.  The  refer- 
endum had  been  applied  to  state  constitutions  during  the 
Jacksonian  period,  and  the  submisssion  of  the  organic  law 
to  the  popular  vote  had  become  a  settled  principle  with 
only  isolated  exceptions. ^^  The  referendum  was  quietly 
applied  to  city  charters,  to  municipal  franchises,  to  bond 
issues,  and  to  the  regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic  —  all 
without  any  general  stir  of  public  interest.  But  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  period  the  referendum  was  proposed  as 
a  measure  of  more  general  application.^'^  In  addition  the 
initiative  was  suggested ;  and  both  institutions  were  advo- 
cated on  a  state-wide  or  more  rarely  a  nation-wide  scale. 
The  relation  of  the  initiative  and  referendum   (usually 

15  See  Blaine  F.  Moore,  "  Cumulative  Voting  in  Illinois." 
i«  Ellis  P.  Oberholzer,  "  The  Referendum." 
1'^  See  Equity  of  July,  1917. 


120  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

both)  to  representative  government  was  called  in  question 
and  a  discussion  was  opened  on  a  scale  which  quickly  be- 
came nation-wide  —  a  battle  center  in  state  constitution 
making  and  a  tilting  point  for  Roosevelt,  Bryan,  La  Fol- 
lette,  Wilson,  Lodge  and  Root.  The  political  theory  of 
these  new  weapons  for  democracy  has  been  and  still  is  an 
object  of  discussion  in  the  course  of  which  the  fundamen- 
tals of  government  have  been  drawn  into  consideration. 

The  case  for  the  referendum  rested  largely  upon  the 
generally  acknowledged  corruption  of  many  legislative 
bodies,  upon  their  responsiveness  to  machine  and  corpo- 
rate suggestions,  their  frequent  unresponsiveness  to  the 
public  will,  and  upon  the  belief  that  this  supplementary 
machinery  was  necessary  to  secure  really  representative 
legislation.^*  To  some  extent  these  devices  rested  upon 
the  belief  in  the  efficacy  and  ability  to  direct  legislation  as 
such.  But  greatest  emphasis  was  placed  upon  the  wide- 
spread corruption  of  legislative  bodies,  of  which  there  was 
abundant  proof,  as  in  New  York,  Ohio,  Illinois,  and  on  the 
disclosures  regarding  a  nation-wide  system  of  legislative 
debauchery.  A  "  jackpot "  legislature,  controlled  by  a 
common  bribery  fund,  became  a  familiar  term,  although  it 
cannot  be  concluded  that  such  practices  are  new  in  the 
history  of  American  legislation.^^  The  control  of  legis- 
ts The  Initiative  and  Referendum  was  sustained  by  the  Supreme 
Court  in  Oregon  vs.  Pacific  States  Telephone  &  Telegraph  Co.,  S3 
Ore.  162;  Kiernan  vs.  City  of  Portland,  112  Pac.  402.  A  good  state- 
ment of  the  popular  argument  is  found  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Michigan  Constitutional  Convention  of  1908,  pp.  546-82,  and  the 
Ohio  Convention  of  1912. 

19  Paul  S.  Reinsch,  "  American  Legislatures  and  Legislative  Meth- 
ods," 1907,  Chap.  VIII,  on  "  The  Perversion  of  Legislative  Action." 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  121 

lative  bodies  by  political  machines  and  bosses  in  many  in- 
stances by  bi-partisan  machines  and  bosses,  made  popular 
control  over  representatives  more  difficult  than  ever.  The 
far-reaching  influence  of  special  business  interests  in 
securing  grants  and  privileges  or  in  blocking  the  demands 
for  public  regulation  —  as  in  the  case  of  railroads,  public 
utilities,  and  liquor  interests  —  were  deeply  influential  in 
arousing  the  public  distrust  of  legislative  bodies.  Organ- 
ization of  the  whole  political-commercial  system  in  the 
lobby,  or  the  "  Third  House,"  as  it  was  often  called,  was 
an  active  influence  that  frequently  controlled  legislation. 
The  advocates  of  direct  legislation  characterized  this 
situation  as  the  "  break-down  of  representative  govern- 
ment," and  urged  the  referendum  as  a  check  upon  cor- 
rupt or  hasty  legislation  and  the  initiative  as  a  spur  to 
action  where  inertia  prevailed.  The  frequent  necessity 
of  organizing  vigilance  committees  of  citizens  to  prevent 
legislation  adverse  to  the  public  interest,  aroused  the  deep- 
est public  concern,  as  on  the  other  hand  did  the  necessity 
of  elaborate  and  repeated  demonstrations  and  demands 
to  obtain  much  desired  legislation  in  the  public  interest. 
Woodrow  Wilson  said :  "  The  most  ardent  and  successful 
advocates  of  the  initiative  and  referendum  regard  them 
as  a  sobering  means  of  obtaining  genuine  representative  ac- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  legislative  bodies.  They  do  not 
mean  to  set  anything  aside.  They  mean  to  restore  and  re- 
invigorate,  rather."  Elsewhere  he  characterized  these 
weapons  as  the  gun  behind  the  door,  not  to  be  frequently 
employed,  probably,  but  useful  in  times  of  emergency.^'' 

20  See  Munro,  "The  Initiative,  Referendum  and  Recall,"  p.  88; 
Beard  and  Schultz,  "  Initiative  and  Referendum  and  Recall " ;  Ohio 


122  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Wilcox  said :  "  The  referendum  is  offered  as  a  remedy,  a 
specific  for  legislative  corruption."  ^^ 

It  may  be  said,  then,  that  the  general  theory  of  the 
advocates  of  the  referendum  was  that  of  a  popular  veto 
on  the  acts  of  the  lawmakers  and  an  appeal  over  the 
legislature  to  the  electorate  in  cases  of  legislative  ob- 
struction. There  were  those  who  advocated  direct  legis- 
lation in  preference  to  indirect  law-making  by  representa- 
tive bodies,  but  on  the  whole  their  part  in  the  general 
movement  was  inconsiderable.  Broadly  speaking  the 
political  idea  underlying  the  demand  for  these  new  devices 
was  that  the  legislative  process  required  the  aid  of  a 
popular  veto  and  a  popular  spur. 

That  these  measures  would  lead  to  the  oppression  of  the 
minority  by  the  majority  they  did  not  believe  or  concede. 
On  the  contrary,  they  contended  that  the  popular  vote  was 
likely  to  be  more  conservative  in  action  than  the  legisla- 
ture.^^ In  any  event  the  ultimate  reliance  must  be  on  the 
character  of  the  American  people,  and  upon  their  atti- 
tude toward  life,  liberty  and  property.  And  this  institu- 
tion, it  was  contended,  is  fundamentally  conservative  and 
wholly  unlikely  to  lead  to  hasty  steps.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  was  urged  that  it  would  tend  to  prevent  an  intrenched 
minority  from  protecting  a  special  privilege  or  preventing 
action  by  the  majority  in  the  general  interest.  Those 
who  are  opposed  to  legislation  "  to  enforce  trusteeship  " 

Constitutional  Convention  Proceedings,  1912,  Argument  of  Roose- 
velt, pp.  378-87- 

21 "  Government  by  all  the  People."  Nathan  Cree,  "  Direct  Legis- 
lation,"  1892.    J.  W.  Sullivan,  "Direct  Legislation,"  1893. 

22  Wilcox,  op.  cit..  67. 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  123 

in  the  use  of  capital  "  will  naturally  be  against  them."  In 
other  words,  the  only  minorities  adversely  affected  would 
be  those  who  held  special  privileges  inimical  to  the  general 
interest. 

During  the  early  years  of  this  period  the  new  plans  for 
enlarging  democratic  control  were  ignored  or  lightly  dis- 
missed as  radical,  populistic  or  socialistic  measures  re- 
quiring no  serious  attention.  With  the  opening  of  a  new 
century,  the  rise  of  the  Progressive  movement  and  the 
elevation  of  these  problems  to  the  plane  of  national  party 
issues,  much  more  thought  was  given  to  the  fundamental 
questions  involved.  Some  of  the  theories  advanced  in 
opposition  were  inextricably  involved  with  general  tend- 
encies of  democratic  government,  of  representation,  and 
of  the  proper  function  of  government.  Others  bore  more 
directly  upon  the  detailed  workings  of  the  specific  plans 
suggested. ^^ 

Direct  legislation,  it  was  held,  involves  the  serious 
weakening  of  representative  government,  and  its  further 
degradation.  It  will  tend  to  make  membership  in  legis- 
lative bodies  unattractive  and  undesirable,  and  will  ulti- 
mately make  our  law-making  bodies  less  useful  than  they 
are  now.     The  destruction  of  representative  government 

23 W.  H.  Taft,  "Popular  Government,"  1913.  Elihu  Root,  "Ex- 
periments in  Government."  Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  "  Why  Should 
We  Change  Our  Form  of  Government  ? " ;  Henry  Cabot  Lodge, 
"The  Constitution  and  Its  Makers,"  191 1.  F.  N.  Judson,  "The 
Judiciary  and  the  People."  Proceedings  of  Ohio  Constitutional 
Convention,  speech  of  Senator  Burton,  pp.  74S-54.  "  The  Initiative 
and  Referendum,"  published  by  the  National  Economic  League,  1912, 
contains  arguments  against  the  initiative  and  referendum  by  Sen- 
ator Sutherland,  Gov.  O'Neall  and  others. 


124  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

began,  said  Butler,  when  we  reduced  the  representative 
to  a  mere  delegate,  under  the  lash  of  party  system. 
"  When  we  began  to  instruct  a  representative  as  to  what 
he  is  to  do  when  elected.  .  .  .  When  we  reduced  the 
representative  from  the  high,  splendid  and  dignified  status 
of  a  real  representative  chosen  by  his  constituency  to  give 
it  his  experience,  his  brains,  his  conscience  and  his  best 
service,  and  made  him  a  mere  registering  machine  for 
the  opinion  of  the  moment,  whatever  it  might  happen  to 
be."  The  adoption  of  the  new  measures  proposed  will 
tend  to  carry  this  process  still  further,  and  reduce  the 
representative  body  to  a  still  lower  status.^^ 

Further,  the  mass  of  the  people  should  not  be  burdened 
with  the  decision  of  questions  which  should  come  before 
the  skilled  law-makers  for  their  extended  consideration. 
They  cannot  be  expected  to  devote  the  necessary  time  and 
attention  to  the  close  study  of  the  difficult  and  compli- 
cated issues  presented  for  their  action.  Nor  is  it  desirable 
or  necessary  under  a  democratic  form  of  government  that 
this  task  should  be  undertaken  by  the  entire  community. 
On  the  contrary,  representative  government  is  the  product 
of  a  long  evolutionary  process  of  specialization  in  the 
political  world,  somewhat  akin  to  the  division  of  labor  in 
industry.  It  is  better  that  attention  should  be  fixed  upon 
the  relatively  few  but  important  measures  of  more  general 
importance.  There  is  danger,  too,  that  there  may  be 
hasty  and  immature  legislation  which  will  not  promote 
any  genuine  public  interest.  In  brief,  the  whole  process 
of  deliberative  legislation  will  be  broken  down,  and  the 
advance  of  national  democracy  indefinitely  delayed. 

Further  it   was   strongly   urged  that  these  measures 
2*  Op.  cit. 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  I25 

would  destroy  the  protection  of  the  minority  under  our 
system  of  government,  and  open  the  way  for  the  tyranny 
of  the  majority.  We  want,  said  Senator  Root,  to  protect 
the  minority,  but  this  cannot  be  continued  and  that  right 
"  cannot  be  maintained  except  by  jealously  preserving 
at  all  times,  and  under  all  circumstances,  the  rule  of 
principle  which  is  eternal  over  the  will  of  majorities  which 
shift  and  pass  away."  ^^  The  characteristic  feature  of 
the  American  governments,  said  he,  is  that  all  aim  to 
preserve  rights  by  limiting  power.  "  This  system  of 
limitations  must  be  preserved  if  our  governmental  system 
is  to  continue."  Slavish  subordination  of  a  representative, 
however,  to  temporary  popular  passion  against  his  better 
judgment  is  a  serious  evil.  In  short,  the  initiative  and 
referendum  tend  to  destroy  or  at  least  to  render  ineffective 
the  governmental  protection  given  the  minority  against 
the  majority  and  tend  to  make  possible  serious  encroach- 
ments upon  property  rights. 

Some  of  the  objections  made  were  directed  to  the  pur- 
poses for  which  the  measures  under  consideration  might 
be  employed.  From  this  viewpoint  they  were  condemned 
as  socialistic  in  tendency  and  even  in  intention.  Thus 
Butler  declared  that  there  was  now  no  way  by  which  a 
socialistic  state  could  be  reached  under  our  system  of 
government  except  by  political  revolution;  but  he  feared 
that  this  might  be  brought  about  by  means  of  the  initia- 
tive and  referendum.  Direct  legislation  might  be  em- 
ployed for  class  purpcfses,  to  promote  the  interests  of  one 
group  at  the  expense  of  another,  and  of  the  poor  at  the 
expense  of   the   rich.     Property   interests,   it   was    felt, 

25  Op.  cit.,  p.  72. 


126  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

would  not  be  adequately  secured  except  through  the  more 
deliberate  processes  of  legislative  action.  The  purposes 
of  the  new  school,  said  Mr.  Taft,  include  the  power  to 
"  change  or  qualify  the  right  of  property  so  as  more  nearly 
to  equalize  property  conditions."  It  was  believed  that  the 
popular  vote  would  be  essentially  radical  and  that  con- 
servative measures  should  not  be  expected  under  a  regime 
where  direct  legislation  was  freely  employed  or  was 
possible. 

A  typical  theory  was  that  of  Lowell  who  held  that 
under  certain  conditions  a  referendum  possessed  distinct 
value.  "  That  direct  popular  action  upon  laws,"  said 
he,  "  when  wisely  and  scientifically  applied  will  prove 
highly  useful  in  certain  conditions  of  society  we  may  well 
believe  without  expecting  to  usher  in  the  millennium."  ^^ 
But  in  general  these  devices  are  undesirable,  and  in  the 
main  the  chief  reliance  for  law-making  must  be  placed  on 
the  regularly  elected  representatives  of  the  state. 

These  arguments  were  closely  interwoven  with  the 
theoretical  discussion  of  the  recall,  and  particularly  with 
the  recall  of  judges  and  of  judicial  decisions,  but  for 
the  purposes  of  analysis  these  topics  are  temporarily  sep- 
arated here.  The  political  philosophy  and  the  practical 
policy  both  of  liberal  and  conservative  were  parts  of  the 
differing  interpretations  of  democracy  which  were  char- 
acteristic of  the  time. 

The  outstanding  features  in  the  development  of  institu- 
tions and  the  theory  of  the  executive  branch  of  the  gov- 
ernment were : 

28  A.  Lawrence  Lowell,  "  Public  Opinion  and  Popular  Govern- 
ment," 1913,  p.  2ZZ. 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  127 

(i)  The  strengthening  of  the  prestige  of  the 
executive  and  the  development  of  the  idea  of  executive 
leadership  and  initiative. 

(2)  The  development  of  a  new  tendency  toward  expert- 
ness  and  efficiency  in  democratic  administration. 

(3)  The  tendency  toward  administrative  consolidation 
and  centralization.^''^ 

A  striking  feature  of  this  time  was  the  development  of 
the  idea  of  executive  initiative  and  leadership.  This  was 
not,  it  is  true,  new  to  American  politics  since  the  days  of 
Andrew  Jackson  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  the  early 
constitutions,  the  executive  had  been  weakly  constructed 
and  in  the  first  generation  of  our  history  the  leadership 
had  rested  largely  in  congress  and  in  the  legislative  bodies ; 
while  in  the  next  period  it  might  be  said  that  leadership 
was  divided  between  the  executive  and  legislative  bodies 
of  the  government,  from  local  to  national.  But  in  the 
last  period  and  particularly  toward  its  close  the  executive 
tended  to  dominate  the  law  making  branch  of  the  govern- 
ment. Many  factors  contributed  to  this  result.  Among 
these  were  the  continued  unpopularity  of  the  legislative 
bodies,  the  gradual  consolidation  of  executive  power,  the 
development  of  a  permanent  and  expert  administrative 
corps,  the  demand  of  the  people  for  vigorous  and  effective 
leadership  against  strong  special  groups,  the  general 
familiarity  with  powerful  executive  types  and  forms  in 

27  J.  H.  Finley  and  J.  F.  Sanderson,  "  The  American  Executive 
and  Executive  Methods " ;  John  A.  Fairlie,  "  National  Administra- 
tion," Chap.  I  and  II ;  Mathews,  "  Principles  of  American  State  Ad- 
ministration " ;    Holcombe,   "  State   Government." 


128  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

social  and  industrial  life.  President  Roosevelt  began  to 
speak  of  "  my  policies,"  Woodrow  Wilson,  a  candidate 
for  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  declared  his  intention  of 
a^uming  the  responsibility  for  State  affairs  if  elected. 
If  this  was  "  unconstitutional,"  he  expected  to  be  an 
"  unconstitutional  governor." 

This  tendency  was  most  strikingly  evident  in  munici- 
palities where  the  new  theory  took  the  form  of  a  demand 
for  what  came  to  be  called  a  "  municipal  dictator."  Be- 
ginning with  the  Brooklyn  charter  in  1882  and  expressed 
more  fully  in  the  New  York  charter  in  1897,  many  cities 
moved  toward  an  executive  with  large  powers.  The 
theory  was  that  political  power  should  be  centralized,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  boss,  but  that  the  leader  should  be  elected 
and  responsible.  It  has  been  seen  that  the  growth  of  the 
American  city  government  tended  to  thrust  the  municipal 
dictator  aside  in  favor  of  a  commission,  but  down  to  the 
present  time  the  executive  in  the  larger  cities,  such  as  New 
York,  Boston,  Philadelphia  and  Chicago,  remains  as  a 
dominating  or  as  an  equal  factor  in  the  government.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  creation  of  the  city  manager  as  an 
expert  administrator  under  the  supervision  of  a  commis- 
sion was  not  designed  to  establish  executive  political  leader- 
ship, but  on  the  contrary  was  intended  to  divorce  politics 
from  administration,  to  leave  the  legislative  body  supreme 
in  political  affairs  with  an  efficient  executive  tool  for 
carrying  out  whatever  it  was  decided  to  do. 

In  school  government  the  same  tendency  toward  the 
development  of  executive  power  appeared.  At  first  the 
school  trustees,  an  elective  body,  were  supreme  in  school 
policy  and  administration,  but  as  time  went  on  these  offi- 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  129 

cers  were  in  many  instances  made  appointive,  and  the 
superintendent  emerged  with  certain  independent  or  co- 
ordinate authority.  He  was  often  given  by  statute  a 
definite  term  of  ofifke,  rights  to  certain  independent 
powers  in  the  appointment  of  teachers  and  choice  of 
curriculum,  and  in  short,  was  set  up  against  the  board  as  a 
coordinate  authority.  In  some  cases,  but  not  frequently, 
the  superintendent  was  made  elective. 

In  the  states,  the  Governor  tended  to  play  an  important 
role.  His  appointive  power  was  very  materially  increased 
as  new  offices,  boards  and  commissions  were  created  from 
year  to  year.  A  few  were  made  elective  and  some  were 
placed  under  the  merit  system,  but  in  the  main  the  control 
was  vested  in  the  Governor.  Where  he  did  not  already 
possess  the  veto  power,  as  in  Ohio  and  Rhode  Island,  it 
was  conferred  upon  him,  and  the  strength  of  his  veto  was 
also  somewhat  accentuated  as  new  state  constitutions  were 
formed.  He  announced  a  legislative  program,  and  upon 
the  general  acceptance  of  this  and  his  skill  in  obtaining 
its  enactment  by  the  legislature  depended  in  large  measure 
his  popularity.  The  formulation,  enactment  and  execu- 
tion of  the  legislative  policy  was  a  criterion  by  which  the 
Governor  came  to  be  judged  as  weak  or  strong.  In  pro- 
posals for  the  establishment  of  an  executive  budget,  a 
system  in  which  the  initiative  in  appropriation  is  taken 
by  the  Governor,  lies  a  further  recognition  of  the  desire 
to  focus  leadership  in  the  state.^*  This  was  of  prime 
significance,  because  the  appropriating  power  had  been 

28  See  New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  Bulletins,  69, 
70,  73 ;  Responsible  Government ;  Budget  Legislation  in  Two  States ; 
and  Three  Proposed  Constitutional  Amendments,  1916. 


130  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

historically  the  chief  prerogative  of  the  parliamentary 
body.  With  the  executive  budget  it  was  definitely 
planned  to  take  from  the  law-makers  to  a  large  extent 
control  over  the  expenditure  of  public  funds.  The  var- 
ious plans  for  the  reorganization  of  state  government, 
such  as  those  of  Croly  and  U'Ren,  emphasized  the  im- 
portance of  giving  to  the  Governor  more  distinct  recogni- 
tion of  his  position  as  a  political  leader.  In  some  of  these 
plans  the  Governor  was  given  authority  to  initiate  pro- 
posals for  legislation  and  on  the  failure  of  the  legislature 
to  approve  them,  to  submit  the  projects  directly  to  the 
voters. 

In  the  Federal  field  the  same  underlying  tendencies  were 
at  work.  President  Johnson  was  completely  over- 
whelmed by  Congress,  and  for  a  considerable  time  the 
legislative  branch  of  the  government  under  the  "  elder 
statesmen's  "  guidance  was  stronger  than  the  executive, 
but  with  the  presidency  of  Cleveland,  McKinley,  Roose- 
velt ^^  and  Wilson,  the  scales  were  tipped  the  other  way. 
The  demand  for  direct  election  of  senators  and  the  at- 
tack on  the  powers  of  the  speaker  tended  to  weaken  the 
law-making  branch  of  the  government.  It  came  to  be 
recognized  as  a  proper  function  of  the  president  to  outline 
a  legislative  policy,  to  use  all  lawful  means  to  obtain 
legislative  enactment  of  his  program,  and  finally,  to  super- 
vise its  actual  administration.  The  energetic  executives 
did  not  shrink  from  this  task,  but  on  the  contrary  con- 
stantly enlarged  the  scope  of  their  activities.  It  became 
the  political  fashion  to  speak  of  "  administration  policies," 

2»  In  "  New  Nationalism "  he  regarded  the  executive  power  as 
the  steward  of  the  pubHc  welfare. 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  l^^ 

although  theoretically  the  policy  of  the  government  was 
determined  by  the  legislature,  while  the  executive  admin- 
istered policies  that  has  been  determined  upon.  The 
President  employed  not  only  the  weapons  of  party  leader- 
ship, but  also  the  effective  public  appeal  to  the  nation  as 
a  whole.  In  this  capacity,  if  he  struck  a  popular  chord, 
he  was  irresistible;  while  if  he  failed,  the  result  was  at- 
tributed not  to  a  mistaken  view  of  governmental  relations, 
but  to  the  weakness  of  the  individual  who  made  the 
effort.3o 

It  is,  of  course,  dangerous  to  place  too  great  stress  upon 
the  personal  power  or  prestige  enjoyed  by  any  particular 
executive,  for  nothing  is  more  evident  than  that  this  tide 
ebbs  and  flows.  Jackson  was  followed  by  Van  Buren, 
Lincoln  by  Johnson,  Roosevelt  by  Taft.  Yet,  viewing  the 
situation  broadly,  it  is  fair  to  say  that  there  was  during 
this  period  a  distinct  development  of  the  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  presidential  leadership. 

The  president  came  to  possess  the  double  attributes  of  a 
Prime  Minister,  who  is  leader  of  the  legislative  body  and 
also  of  an  independent  executive  who  is  not  responsible  to 
the  legislative  body.  Executive  expansion  was  con- 
tested by  the  leaders  of  Congress,  by  the  party  bosses,  by 
any  selfish  interest  affected,  and  in  addition  to  this  en- 
countered the  inevitable  inertia  of  long-standing  custom. 
From  time  to  time  as  the  flood  subsided,  Congress  and  the 
party  leaders  resumed  their  earlier  position  of  ascend- 

30  See  Benjamin  Harrison,  "This  Country  of  Ours";  Grover 
Qeveland,  "  Presidential  Problems  " ;  Theodore  Roosevelt,  "  Auto- 
biography " ;  William  H.  Taft,  "  Presidential  Problems  " ;  "  Our  Chief 
Magistrate";  Woodrow  Wilson,  "Constitutional  Government,"  Ch.  3. 


132  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ancy,  yet  with  relatively  little  effect  upon  the  tidal  move- 
ment. 

The  executive  branch  of  the  government  was  further 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the  spoils  system  was  chal- 
lenged in  this  period  by  the  merit  system.  Along  with 
the  institution  of  this  new  plan  went  the  recognition  of  the 
importance  of  the  expert  in  government.  The  reign  of 
**  King  Andrew  "  Jackson  had  definitely  ended  popular 
hostility  to  the  executive  branch  of  the  government  as 
such,  but  at  the  same  time  the  spoils  system  of  which 
Jackson  was  the  champion  had  taken  away  from  the 
executive  the  chief  means  by  which  an  intelligent  and  sus- 
tained initiative  could  be  maintained,  namely,  a  relatively 
permanent  and  experienced  corps  of  administrators  asso- 
ciated with  the  executive. 

During  this  period  the  spoils  system  was  subjected  to 
violent  attack,  beginning  at  the  close  of  the  War.  This 
was  carried  on  so  successfully  that  by  1883  a  national 
Civil  Service  Act  was  placed  upon  the  statute  books.  The 
essential  principle  of  this  measure  was  the  substitution  of 
administrative  qualification  instead  of  party  service  as  a 
guiding  principle.  Inadequate  in  its  scope  and  often  im- 
perfectly administered,  the  measure  was  extended  in  area 
and  more  rigidly  applied  as  time  went  on.  In  the  states 
relatively  little  progress  was  made  in  this  direction,  in 
counties  almost  none,  but  in  the  cities  a  material  advance 
was  made  in  the  last  half  of  this  period.  The  most  strik- 
ing feature  in  the  whole  movement  was  not  the  compre- 
hensiveness of  the  laws,  or  the  completeness  of  their 
enforcement,  which  left  much  to  be  desired,  but  the  ap- 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  133 

pearance  of  the  new  political  idea  supplanting  the  historic 
doctrine,  "  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils." 

During  the  period  now  under  discussion,  it  came  to  be 
generally  conceded  that  there  is  no  inherent  incompat- 
ability  between  democracy  and  efficiency,  ^^  Under  the 
relatively  simple  conditions  of  Jackson's  time,  the  loss 
from  unskilled  service  was  not  so  great  or  so  apparent. 
The  growing  burdens  of  government,  and  the  increasingly 
specialized  technique  of  administration  forced  upon  the 
public  the  recognition  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  trained 
public  servants.  At  the  same  time  universal  public  educa- 
tion, and  the  absence  of  class  distinctions  in  the  govern- 
mental service,  opened  the  door  to  the  whole  democracy. 
With  more  limited  facilities  for  general  education,  the  ef- 
fect of  the  merit  system  might  have  been  to  limit  public  em- 
ployment, in  large  measure,  to  the  class  in  the  community 
whose  economic  situation  was  such  as  to  make  education 
possible.  The  American  system  of  schools,  organized 
upon  a  democratic  basis,  insured  the  democratic  character 
of  the  public  service  against  the  dangers  of  aristocratic 
rule  and  bureaucracy.  Under  these  circumstances  the 
idea  of  expert  and  permanent  administration  spread 
rapidly,  starting  with  a  small  group  of  active  exponents 
and  finding  its  way  throughout  the  entire  society.  This 
feature  was  most  conspicuous  in  municipal  government, 
and  least  evident  in  the  rural  political  agencies,  but  the 
expert  idea  was  everywhere  recognized  and  began  to  be 
everywhere  evident. 

»i  See  W,  H.  Allen,  "  Efficient  Democracy  " ;  A.  L,  Lowell,  "  Public 
Opinion." 


,134  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

In  the  latter  part  of  this  period  the  merit  system,  which 
at  first  concerned  itself  largely  with  examination  for 
entrance  into  office,  and  with  methods  for  separation  from 
service,  was  intensified  and  further  developed  by  the  idea 
of  efficiency  in  the  broader  sense  of  the  term.  The  work 
of  classification  of  official  positions  and  their  standard- 
ization was  undertaken  in  many  cities  and  to  some  extent 
in  states  and  the  federal  government.  Efficiency  in  the 
conduct  of  administrative  work  of  every  description  was 
extensively  instituted,  and  solid  advances  were  made 
toward  the  betterment  of  the  executive  service.  In  the 
earlier  period  investigations  and  inquiries  had  generally 
centered  around  the  criminal  phases  of  official  conduct, 
pointing  toward  the  grand  jury  and  the  criminal  court. 
But  between  the  customary  character  of  many  of  the 
offences  and  the  rigid  technicalities  of  the  law  there  were 
many  failures  to  secure  conviction ;  and  the  chief  value  of 
such  inquiries  was  educational  rather  than  punitive. 
They  succeeded  in  dramatically  exhibiting  to  the  public 
the  inner  workings  of  the  political  system,  and  finally  in 
fastening  a  social  stigma  upon  the  practices  toward  which 
the  community  had  been  somewhat  complaisant.  But 
the  terrors  of  the  criminal  law  were  not  at  all  adequate  to 
remedy  the  situation,  and  there  began  a  series  of  efforts 
to  improve  the  efficiency  of  the  service  by  careful  analysis 
of  its  workings  and  constructive  suggestions  looking  to- 
ward reorganization. 

In  cities  like  New  York  and  Boston  and  Chicago,  mu- 
nicipal research  work  was  undertaken ;  in  the  various 
states  commissions  on  economy  and  efficiency  began  to 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  135 

appear  with  notable  frequency.^  ^  In  some  cases  the  work 
of  these  bodies  was  largely  ignored,  while  in  other  in- 
stances many  recommendations  were  put  into  practical 
effect. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  present  inquiry  to  give  a 
detailed  description  of  these  undertakings  or  to  appraise 
their  value ;  but  it  is  important  to  note  the  gradual  develop- 
ment from  the  spoils  idea  to  the  merit  system,  and  the 
advance  from  the  more  or  less  formal  and  mechanical 
beginnings  of  the  merit  system  to  the  more  systematic  and 
scientific  methods  and  results  of  the  broader  efficiency 
movement.  The  significant  fact  is  that  American  political 
thought  began  to  recognize  the  urgent  necessity  of  organ- 
izing administrative  machinery  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
make  possible  the  permanent  retention  of  skilled  public 
servants,  who  while  amenable  to  public  control,  were  at 
the  same  time  effective  instruments  in  the  hands  of  the 
democracy.  This  change  of  political  attitude  is  of  prime 
importance  in  any  analysis  of  American  political  thought 
and  institutions. 

Another  important  phase  of  administrative  development 
was  seen  in  the  advance  of  the  idea  of  consolidation  and 
centralization.  By  the  middle  of  the  century  public  ad- 
ministration, outside  the  Federal  government,  had  reached 
the  low  water  mark  of  decentralization  in  the  United 
States.  Both  in  cities  and  in  states  the  utmost  confusion 
prevailed  within  the  administrative  ranks.  Many  inde- 
pendent officers,  boards,  and  commissions  had  been  freely 

32  See  G.  S.  Weber,  "  Organized  Efforts  for  the  Improvement 
of  Methods  of  Administration  in  the  U.  S."  (iqiq)- 


136  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

created  and  left  without  any  central  responsible  guidance. 
During  the  latter  half  of  the  century,  however,  there  was 
a  conspicuous  tendency  to  consolidate  these  scattered  ad- 
ministrative agencies,  under  the  governor  in  the  state,  and 
under  the  mayor  in  the  municipality.  In  the  cities  this 
movement  was  most  rapid,  but  it  was  also  evident  within 
the  commonwealths  as  well.^* 

The  powers  of  appointment,  removal  and  direction  were 
gradually  transferred  to  the  Governor,  or  the  Mayor,  and 
in  some  cases  to  the  president  of  a  county  board.  In 
this  way  a  much  more  compact  form  of  executive  was 
gradually  built  up.  In  the  national  government  de- 
centralization had  never  been  established,  and  it  was  the 
national  principle  of  consolidation  that  was  adopted  and 
applied  in  the  states  and  cities.  Many  administrative  of- 
ficials were  still  left  outside  the  control  of  the  central 
executive,  notably  treasurers  and  comptrollers,  but  in  the 
main  the  steady  tendency  was  in  the  direction  of  con- 
solidation. 

In  many  states  there  was  also  a  movement  toward 
central  supervision  over  local  administration  which  still 
further  strengthened  the  executive.^*  This  was  partic- 
ularly noticeable  in  the  fields  of  public  sanitation,  educa- 
tion, finance,  charities  and  corrections,  although  by  no 
means  confined  to  these  activities.  In  fact,  as  functions 
of  government  developed,  it  was  not  uncommon  for  the 
new  activity  to  be  taken  over  in  whole  or  in  part  by  the 

33  See  New  York  State  Library  Bulletins  on  Legislation  and  Re- 
views of  State  Legislation. 

^*  Columbia  University  Studies  in  History,  Economics  and  Pub- 
lic Law;  VIII,  2,  4;  IX,  3;  XVI,  3;  XVII,  4-  Mathews,  "  Principles 
of  American  State  Administration." 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  137 

State  government.  This  was  notably  true  in  the  "  good 
roads "  movement.  Opposition  to  this  tendency  de- 
veloped, but  on  the  whole  was  ineffective  except  in  cases 
where  state  administrative  supervision  touched  the  en- 
forcement of  liquor  legislation  or  entered  the  province  of 
industrial  disputes,  as  in  the  case  of  state  constabulary. 
In  most  instances,  however,  there  was  acquiescence  in  the 
new  policy  indicating  the  general  current  of  thought 
toward  a  closer  integration  of  administration.  Local 
self-government  did  not  lose  its  charm,  but'slowly  it  came 
to  be  recognized  that  there  was  both  economy  and  democ- 
racy in  providing  a  central  clearing  house  for  local  activi- 
ties, and  in  the  maintenance  of  certain  minimum  stand- 
ards of  local  efficiency  by  some  large  political  area. 

Another  striking  feature  of  the  period  was  the  growth 
of  administrative  bodies  with  sub-legislative  powers  of 
various  descriptions.  Notable  illustrations  of  this  de- 
velopment were  seen  in  the  public  utilities  commission, 
in  various  local  sanitary  authorities,  and  in  the  national 
immigration  and  revenue  bureaus.  This  advance  was  a 
double  gain  for  the  administration,  for  on  the  one  hand 
it  took  from  the  legislative  body  a  sub-legislative  power 
and  from  the  court  a  certain  field  of  judicial  determina- 
tion.''^    The  slow  processes  of  piece  meal  legislation,  ad- 

^^  Frank  J.  Goodnow,  "  Principles  of  the  Administrative  Law  of  the 
U.  S." ;  T.  B.  Powell,  "  The  Principle  of  the  Separation  of  Powers," 
1913 ;  "  Administrative  Exercise  of  the  Police  Power,"  Harvard  Law 
Rev.,  24,  268;  John  B.  Cheadle,  "Delegation  of  Legislative  Func- 
tion," 27  Yale  Law  Journal,  892 ;  J.  B.  Winslow,  "  A  Legislative  In- 
dictment of  the  Courts,"  Harvard  Law  Review,  Vol.  29,  p.  395 ; 
Goodnow,  F.  J.,  "  Private  Rights  and  Administrative  Discretion," 
Am.  Bar  Assn.,  1916. 


138  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ministrative  custom,  and  judicial  decision,  gradually 
rounded  out  a  field  of  Administration,  with  power  to  pre- 
scribe a  wide  variety  of  rules  affecting  not  only  public 
officials  but  private  persons  as  well.  A  study  of  the 
nature,  extent  and  limitations  of  this  power,  and  of  the 
legal  and  administrative  principles  developed  is  not  a 
part  of  this  discussion,  but  it  constitutes  a  notable  de- 
velopment in  the  general  advance  of  the  executive  power. 

There  appeared  the  beginning  of  a  science  of  adminis- 
tration, and  of  administrative  law.  The  practices,  prin- 
ciples, rules,  of  law  and  administration  were  gradually 
brought  together  and  shaped  into  coherent  form.  In  this 
field  Goodnow  ^^  was  most  active,  for  a  generation  inspir- 
ing and  developing  the  study  of  the  principles  governing 
administration,  and  endeavoring  to  place  it  upon  a  scien- 
tific, or  at  least  upon  a  legal  basis  . 

Out  of  all  this  institutional  change  and  public  discussion 
there  emerged,  then,  a  new  type  of  executive  in  the  Amer- 
ican theory  and  practice.  An  administration,  expert  and 
permanent,  consolidated  and  centralized,  endowed  with 
the  opportunity  of  party  and  public  leadership,  vested, 
after  a  fashion,  with  residuary  powers  of  prerogative  to 
do  what  the  law  omitted  to  authorize  elsewhere.  In  short, 
executive  leadership,  which  appeared  hateful  to  the 
democracy  in  the  days  when  it  threw  off  the  yoke  of 
monarchy,  powerful  administration,  which  it  had  held  in 
terror  as  a  part  of  the  institution  of  kingship,  and  later 
under  suspicion  as  a  part  of  an  aristocratic  system  —  these 
took  their  place  again  on  a  democratic  basis  in  the  insti- 
tutions and  ideas  of  the  people. 

30  "  Comparative  Administrative  Law,"  1893.    See  Ch.  X. 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  t39 

Some  efforts  were  made  to  obtain  stricter  popular  con- 
trol over  the  newly  endowed  executives.  The  process  of 
impeachment  had  become,  as  it  was  characterized,  a 
"  rusty  blunderbuss."  In  place  of  it  there  was  estab- 
lished, principally  in  local  governments,  although  to  some 
extent  in  the  states,  a  new  institution  known  as  the  recall. 
Under  this  arrangement  the  tenure  of  the  executive  might 
be  terminated  at  any  time,  in  the  pleasure  of  the  electorate. 
Only  occasional  use  was  made  of  this,  even  in  the  cities, 
but  it  was  held  to  be  a  useful  contrivance  where  the  execu- 
tive could  not  be  kept  in  check  by  the  force  of  public 
opinion.^'^ 

The  new  development  of  the  executive  stood  in  close 
relation  to  the  current  theories  and  practice  in  social  and 
industrial  life.  The  boss  in  cities  and  states  was  the  first 
to  gather  in  his  hands  the  scattered  threads  of  political 
authority,  and  to  assume  the  role  of  dictator  in  the  city, 
county  or  state.  In  his  central  position  he  united  the 
powers  of  government  otherwise  difficult  to  coordinate, 
and  held  in  his  hands  not  only  administrative  but  legisla- 
tive and  even  judicial  control  as  well.  He  established  a 
strict  party  merit  system  and  developed  the  technique  of 
organization  efficiency.  It  was  an  easy  transition  to  es- 
tablish a  responsible  elective  boss  endowed  with  similar 
powers,  but  recognized  as  a  responsible  part  of  the  frame- 
work of  the  government.  The  principle  of  "  conspicuous 
responsibility  "  was  substituted  for  that  of  the  boss,  who 
was  certainly  conspicuous  enough,  but  was  not  readily 
held  responsible.  Likewise  in  the  industrial  field,  the 
centralization  of  executive  power  w^as  very  marked.     Not 

37^  Oberholtzer,  op.  cit. 


140  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

only  were  there  large  corporations  and  combinations  of 
corporations  with  wide  power,  but  in  them  there  were 
powerful  figures  in  whose  hands  vafst  authority  was 
placed.  The  railroad  kings,  the  trust  magnates,  the  in- 
dustrial barons,  were  conspicuous  examples  of  highly  cen- 
tralized executive  authority  and  of  conspicuous  industrial 
leadership.  At  the  same  time,  in  the  domain  of  organ- 
ized labor  striking  figures  appeared  who  were  also  pos- 
sessed of  far-reaching  authority  hitherto  unknown  in  the 
history  of  the  country.  Men  like  Gompers  were  powerful 
and  dominant  factors,  matching  the  captains  of  industry. 
Centralization  was  the  order  of  the  day  in  politics  and 
industry  as  in  society.  The  political  development  was  a 
part  of  the  general  movement.  The  boss,  the  industrial 
magnate,  the  labor  leader  and  the  centralized  political 
executive  were  all  a  piece  of  the  same  cloth.  The  times 
were  not  favorable  to  checks  and  restraints  upon  action, 
but  rather  to  the  close  concentration  of  power  and  leader- 
ship equipped  for  instant  and  energetic  action  on  a  great 
scale. 

The  earlier  idea  of  the  separation  of  governmental 
powers  and  balance  of  powers  as  an  indispensable  pre- 
requisite of  democracy  and  liberty  were  vigorously  at- 
tacked, both  in  constitutions,  in  systematic  thought  and  in 
general  sentiment  during  this  period,^*  The  three- fold 
separation  and  balance  of  power  collapsed  completely  in  the 
cities  adopting  the  commission  form  of  government,  and 

'*  William  Bondy,  "  The  Separation  of  Government  Powers," 
Ch.  V;  Thomas  Reed  Powell,  "The  Separation  of  Powers," 
1913;  A,  R,  Ellingwood,  "Departmental  Cooperation  in  State  Gov- 
ernment." 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  I41 

in  general  less  emphasis  was  placed  upon  the  importance 
of  the  separation.  The  theory  long  entertained  that  lib- 
erty could  not  be  preserved  without  vesting  the  separate 
powers  of  government  in  separate  organs  of  government, 
and  balancing  these  organs  against  each  other,  was  chal- 
lenged in  many  quarters.  It  was  also  strongly  defended, 
not  only  by  the  inertia  of  long  established  habit  of  thought, 
but  by  systematic  arguments  in  its  favor.  Goodnow  was 
among  the  most  conspicuous  of  those  who  assailed  the 
older  idea.^^ 

He  advanced  the  theory  that  there  are  in  reality 
only  two  powers  of  government;  one  the  formulation  of 
the  will  of  the  state,  which  he  called  "  politics,"  and  the 
other  the  execution  of  the  predetermined  will  of  the  state, 
which  he  characterized  as  "  administration."  Under 
"  politics  "  is  included  constitution-making,  the  ordinary 
legislative  activities,  the  selection  of  governmental  officers, 
the  action  of  the  courts  to  the  extent  that  law  is  really 
made,  the  activities  of  political  parties  and  the  general 
supervision  of  the  execution  of  the  will  of  the  state. 
Under  "  administration  "  would  be  set  the  ordinary  activ- 
ities of  executive  bodies  and  the  bulk  of  the  work  of  the 
courts  in  the  administration  of  justice.  Goodnow  main- 
tained that  this  division  was  fundamental  in  nature,  and 
logically  superior  to  the  earlier  three-fold  classification. 
Using  this  as  a  basis,  he  drew  a  line  between  political 
officials  who  are  properly  elective  and  the  administrative 

39  Frank  J.  Goodnow,  "  Politics  and  Administration " ;  see  also 
J.  A.  Smith,  "The  Spirit  of  American  Government";  A.  N.  Hol- 
combe,  "State  Government";  Herbert  Croly,  "The  Promise  of 
American  Life,"  and  "  Progressive  Democracy." 


142  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

officials,  who  are  properly  appointive.  "  Politics  "  should 
supervise  and  control  "  administration,"  but  should  not 
extend  this  control  farther  than  is  necessary  for  the  main 
purpose. 

The  check  and  balance  theory  was  characterized  by  a 
distinguished  authority  in  politics  as  the  "  Whig  theory 
of  political  dynamics  " —  a  doctrine  of  physical  balances 
and  equilibriums  corresponding  to  the  physical  theory  of 
the  universe  developed  during  the  i8th  century.^*^  He 
and  others  emphasized  the  organic  nature  of  political  rela- 
tions as  against  the  purely  mechanical  conception.  They 
urged  the  necessity  of  viewing  the  government  as  a  whole, 
rather  than  dividing  it  into  separate  parts  and  trusting  to 
the  natural  activity  of  those  separate  organs  for  the  cus- 
tody of  democracy  and  liberty.  We  must  think,  they 
urged,  less  of  checks  and  balances  and  more  of  coordinated 
power;  less  of  separation  of  functions,  and  more  of  the 
synthesis  of  action. 

Indeed,  the  conclusion  was  widely  reached  that  the 
check  and  balance  system  instead  of  supporting  liberty, 
endangered  it ;  that  instead  of  serving  as  a  barrier  against 
tyranny,  it  became  the  bulwark  of  special  privilege  and 
interests  lurking  in  its  complications.  "  Hide  and  seek 
politics,"  as  it  was  termed,  is  favorable  to  the  political 
machine  and  special  privilege  which  undertake  to  override 
the  will  of  the  democracy.  It  was  frequently  asserted  and 
widely  believed  that  unless  some  method  could  be  found 
of  simplifying  the  form  of  government,  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  a  democracy  to  succeed.  "  Conspicuous  re- 
sponsibility," by  which  was  meant  the  organization  within 
*"  Woodrow   Wilson,    "  Constitutional    Government,"    Ch.   8. 


POWERS  OF  GOVERNMENT  143 

the  government  of  responsible  and  powerful  leadership, 
took  the  place  in  democratic  thought  of  the  purely  mechan- 
ical idea  of  arbitrary  checks  and  balances.  What  was 
known  as  the  "  short  ballot  "  movement  was  only  a  part 
of  a  larger  drift  toward  more  perfect  organization  of 
political  leadership  designed  to  make  more  directly  and 
certainly  effective  the  opinion  of  the  community. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  was  not  only  the  inertia  of  in- 
stitutions, but  some  systematic  defence  of  the  check  and 
balance  doctrine.  Woolsey  ^^  early  defended  the  balance 
of  power  as  a  political  theory,  although  emphasizing  as 
Hamilton  had  done  in  the  Federalist,  the  importance  of  in- 
terrelation and  interdependence.  The  courts  used  the 
language  of  the  balance  of  powers,  in  their  decisions,  al- 
though somewhat  modifying  the  severity  and  rigidity  of 
the  classification.  Cooley  in  his  "  Constitutional  Limita- 
tions "  set  forth  the  legal  doctrine  with  great  emphasis.'*^ 

The  constitutional  provisions  of  all  the  states  and  of 
the  United  States  remained  unchanged  in  this  respect,  pre- 
serving the  three- fold  separation  of  powers  and  the  formal 
balance  between  them.  In  the  cities  to  be  sure,  the  legis- 
lative and  executive  branches  of  the  government  were 
frequently  united,  but  generally  speaking  the  earlier  sys- 
tem survived  both  in  constitutions  and  courts.  Public 
opinion,  political  parties,  the  unwritten  constitution  slowly 
translated  the  doctrine  from  a  principle  of  liberty  to  a 
rule  of  political  convenience  —  to  a  separation  of  agencies 
on  the  principle  of  the  division  of  labor,  yet  with  leader- 
ship and  authority  tending  to  centralize  in  the  executive 

41  "Political  Science  II,"  Ch.  9  (1877). 

42  T.  M.  Cooley,  ist  ed.  of  work,  1868. 


144  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

branch  of  the  government.  As  far  as  the  relation  between 
legislative  and  executive  branches  of  government  are 
concerned,  it  could  scarcely  be  said  to  be  a  general  opinion 
that  liberty  depended  on  their  rigid  separation  and  skillful 
balance. 

A  notable  effort  was  made  during  this  period  to  provide 
by  constitutional  amendment  for  more  intimate  relation 
between  the  legislative  and  executive  branches  of  the  na- 
tional government  by  allowing  Cabinet  members  to  have 
seats  in  Congress.  But  though  supported  by  eminent  au- 
thority, this  proposal  did  not  prevail. 

On  the  whole,  it  may  be  said  that  during  this  time  the 
doctrine  of  checks  and  balances,  as  between  governmental 
organizations,  was  weakened,  and  that  the  theory  of  the 
responsibility  to  the  electorate  tended  to  replace  it;  that 
popular  distrust  of  the  legislative  branch  of  the  govern- 
ment grew,  but  on  the  other  hand  popular  confidence  in 
the  executive  increased,  as  seen  notably  in  the  develop- 
ment of  executive  leadership,  in  the  weakening  of  the 
spoils  system,  and  in  the  strengthening  of  technical  ad- 
ministration.^* 

*3  The  consideration  of  the  relation  of  the  courts  to  these  branches 
of  government  will  be  found  in  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE 

The  relation  of  legal  justice  to  democracy  is  one  of  the 
significant  problems  of  popular  government.  Alexander 
Hamilton  contended,  in  the  Federalist,  that  since  the 
judiciary  had  neither  "  force  "  nor  "  will,"  but  only  the 
"  power  of  judgment,"  it  could  never  be  formidable. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  notable  there  have  been  sharp  con- 
flicts on  fundamental  questions  of  justice  at  various  times 
between  the  courts  and  the  greatest  leaders  of  our 
democracy  —  Thomas  Jefferson,  Andrew  Jackson,  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  and  Theodore  Roosevelt.  The  function  of 
the  judge  is  at  best  a  difficult  one,  seeking  amid  compli- 
cated social,  political,  economic,  ethical  and  cultural  facts 
a  principle  of  justice  which  will  be  recognized  by  his  pro- 
fession and  by  the  community.^  To  fuse  the  past  and 
the  present  in  a  juristic  rule  of  action  useful  for  the  future 
is  a  work  of  the  very  greatest  gravity  —  one  of  the  highest 
triumphs  of  human  intelligence  in  the  field  of  social  rela- 
tions. Much  more  difficult  is  this  process  in  a  period  of 
rapidly  changing  economic  facts  and  social  ideals.  Work- 
ing under  the  powerful  pressure  of  unscrupulous  political 
and  economic  interests ;  in  a  period  of  active  law-making 
by  the  community,  and  more  than  all,  in  a  period  when  the 

1 "  The  truth  is,"  said  Justice  Holmes,  "  that  the  law  is  always  ap- 
proaching and  never  reaching  consistency.  It  will  become  entirely 
consistent  only  when  it  ceases  to  grow." 

145 


146  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

economic,  social  and  class  origins  and  implications  of  law 
and  justice  are  scrutinized  and  challenged  as  never  before, 
the  task  of  legal  logic,  of  penetrating  insight,  of  balanced 
judgment,  of  invention  of  formulas  of  democratic  jus- 
tice, is  more,  than  commonly  heavy. 

Certainly  no  study  of  American  political  thought  would 
be  complete  without  an  analysis  of  the  fundamental  tend- 
encies of  judicial  organization  and  action  at  the  points 
where  the  judicial  system  touches  our  political  develop- 
ment most  closely.  This  task  is  particularly  important 
where  legal  and  political  ideas  are  as  closely  interwoven 
as  in  the  United  States.  It  is  true  that  the  undertaking 
is  rendered  more  difficult  by  the  absence  of  an  adequate 
history  of  American  law,  which  thus  far  exists  only  in 
fragmentary  form.  But  the  important  position  of  the 
legal  profession  in  the  actual  conduct  of  governmental 
affairs,  the  legalistic  character  of  much  of  our  political 
thought,  and  the  commanding  position  of  the  courts  in 
American  political  life,  makes  some  discussion  of  certain 
fundamentals  indispensable.^     Some  day  the  full  story  of 

2  See  "Two  Centuries'  Growth  of  American  Law"  (1701-1901) 
by  members  of  the  Faculty  of  Yale  Law  School,  1901 ;  T.  M.  Cooley 
and  others,  "The  Constitutional  History  of  the  U.  S.  as  Seen  in 
the  Development  of  American  Law,"  1889 ;  John  F.  Dillon,  "  Laws  and 
Jurisprudence  of  England  and  America,"  1894;  Simon  E.  Baldwin, 
"American  Judiciary,"  1905;  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  "The  Com- 
mon Law,"  1881 ;  Charles  Warren,  "  A  History  of  the  American 
Bar"  (1911);  "Centennial  History,"  Harvard  Law  School,  1817- 
1917 ;  Holcombe,  "  State  Government  in  the  United  States " ;  Sir 
Frederick  Pollock,  "The  Genius  of  the  Common  Law,"  1912;  J.  B. 
Ames,  "  Lectures  on  Legal  History,"  1913.  The  early  development 
of  American  law  is  discussed  by  Paul  S.  Reinsch  in  "  English  Com- 
mon Law  in  the  Early  American  Colonies." 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  147 

American  law  in  its  development  as  a  part  of  our  social 
history  will  be  told. 

That  lawyers  have  played  a  leading  role  in  American 
public  life  has  been  generally  conceded  by  close  observers. 
Burgess  once  characterized  the  government  of  the  United 
States  as  the  "  aristocracy  of  the  robe,"  and  warned  the 
bar  and  the  bench  of  their  grave  responsibility  for  leader- 
ship in  the  affairs  of  state.^  Judge  Brewer  said :  "  Sneer 
at  it  as  any  one  may,  complain  of  it  as  any  one  will,  no  one 
can  look  at  American  society  as  it  is  to-day  —  and  has 
been  during  the  century  of  national  existence  —  with- 
out perceiving  that  the  recognized,  persistent  and  universal 
leader  in  social  and  political  affairs  has  been  the  gentle- 
man of  the  green  bag."  ^  The  presence  of  large  numbers 
of  lawyers  in  legislative  and  administrative  positions  and 
in  posts  of  party  leadership  has  very  materially  affected 
the  formulation  of  American  political  thought,^  although 
in  the  latter  period  the  lawyer  was  often  obliged  to 
struggle  for  the  ascendancy  even  within  the  gates  of  the 
temple  of  justice  against  the  "practical  views"  of  the 
party  boss  and  the  industrial  magnate.® 

3  "  Political  Science,"  II,  365. 

*  American  Bar  Association,  1895-443.  See  also  Haynes,  "  Rep- 
resentation in  State  Legislatures " ;  John  R.  Dos  Passos,  "  The 
American  Lawyer,"  1907 ;  Julius  H.  Cohen,  "  The  Law,  Business 
or  Profession,"  1916,  with  bibliography,  pp.  395-398.  Compare 
James  Bryce,  "  The  Influence  of  National  Character  and  Historical 
Environment  on  the  Development  of  the  Common  Law,"  American 
Bar  Association,  1907,  pp.  444-462. 

'^In  1894  Judge  Dillon  estimated  that  of  3122  U.  S.  Senators, 
2068  were  lawyers;  of  11,889  members  of  the  House,  5832,  of  gov- 
ernors, 578  of  987  (total  of  1 157,  but  information  available  regard- 
ing 978). 

^  Woodrow  Wilson,  "  The  Legal  Education  of  Undergraduates," 


148  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

At  the  outset  the  judges  were  chosen  by  the  Legislature 
or  the  Governor.  There  was  no  particular  evidence  either 
of  confidence  in  or  fear  of  courts  as  such,  although  there 
was  opposition  to  lawyers  and  the  common  law.  Soon 
after  the  establishment  of  the  Republic,  however,  the 
judges  began  to  make  their  influence  felt,  and  then  a 
sharp  controversy  arose  regarding  the  proper  position  of 
the  court  in  a  democracy.  Neither  the  vigorous  assaults 
of  Thomas  Jefferson  nor  the  bold  defiance  of  the  Supreme 
Court  by  Andrew  Jackson,  nor  the  onslaughts  on  the 
courts  in  the  various  states  were  sufficient  to  stay  their 
steadily  advancing  authority.  Chief  Justice  Marshall  ef- 
fected an.  alliance  with  the  growing  spirit  of  nationalism^ 
and  employed  his  skillful  legal  logic  to  develop  and  expand 
the  powers  of  the  federal  government  as  against  the  au- 
thority of  the  separate  states.  In  this  he  was  pre- 
eminently successful  and  greatly  enhanced  the  power  and 
prestige  of  the  courts.  In  individual  states  the  judges 
also  obtained  the  power  to  declare  void  the  acts  of  the 
legislature  and  secured  the  position  of  general  defender  of 
the  Constitution.  Justice  Gibson  rendered  a  famous  dis- 
senting opinion  contrary  to  the  right  of  the  court  to  over- 
rule state  law,  but  this  was  overriden  and  the  contrary 
doctrine  everywhere  prevailed.'^  Attempts  in  different 
states  to  prevent  what  were  termed  the  "  encroachments  " 
of  the  judiciary  were  successful  in  isolated  cases.^ 

American  Bar  Association,  1894,  p.  439 ;  "  The  Lawyer  and  the 
Community,"  American  Bar  Association,  1910,  pp.  419-39-  Much 
important  information  on  the  personnel  of  the  American  Bar  is 
given  in  W.  D.  Lewis'  "  Great  American  Lawyers." 

^  Eakin  v.  Raub,  1825,  12  Sergeant  &  Rawle,  330. 

8W.    W.    Willoughby,    "The    Supreme    Court,"    1890;    W.    Car- 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  149 

Toward  the  end  of  the  period  the  Dred  Scott  decision, 
undoing  the  historic  Missouri  Compromise  and  operating 
in  the  interests  of  the  slave-holders,  did  not  improve  the 
position  of  the  judiciary.  On  the  contrary,  it  served  to 
evoke  the  most  vigorous  protest  throughout  the  North, 
v^^here  the  chief  critic  of  the  Supreme  Court  was  Abraham 
Lincoln,  who  opposed  the  Dred  Scott  decision  in  set  terms, 
and  defended  his  position  with  great  force  and  ability. 

By  the  end  of  this  period,  then,  the  courts  had  gained 
their  independence  from  the  legislature  and  the  veto  power 
over  legislative  acts.  They  had  lost  power  through  the 
substitution  of  short  terms  for  life  tenure,  and  through 
their  direct  responsibility  to  the  electorate  in  the  states. 
They  had  gained  through  the  acquiescence  of  the  public 
in  the  theory  that  courts  were  the  special  guardians  of 
rights  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  and  through  the 
courts'  obvious  sympathy  with  nationalism. 

During  the  war  it  was  inevitable  that  the  judiciary 
should  receive  a  set-back  in  the  emergencies  of  military 
conflict.  When  President  Lincoln  suspended  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  in  Maryland,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  undertook  to  intervene,  but  the  officer  of 
the  court  was  checked  by  the  bayonet.  Nor  did  the 
wavering  conduct  of  the  court  in  the  later  legal  tender 
cases  add  to  its  prestige  as  an  interpreter  of  unchanging 
law.^     Nor  did  the  partisan  position  taken  by  the  Supreme 

penter,  "Judicial  Tenure  in  the  U.  S."  1918;  H.  L.  Carson,  "His- 
tory of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  U.  S."  (1902). 

8  Legal  Tender  cases,  1870.  12  Wall,  457.  See  George  Bancroft, 
"  A  Plea  for  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  America 
Wounded  in  the  House  of  its  Guardians,"  1886;  Richard  C.  Mc- 
Murtrie,  "Plea  for  the  Supreme  Court,"  1886;  Brinton  Coxe,  "  Es- 


I50  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Court  judges  in  the  Hayes-Tilden  election  contest,  when 
every  one  of  the  Justices  appointed  to  serve  upon  the 
non-partisan  electoral  commission  voted  in  strict  harmony 
with  his  party  affiliations,  improve  its  general  position. 

After  the  War,  attention  centered  around  the  rapidly 
developing  industrial  situation  with  its  new  forms  and 
forces.  The  14th  Amendment,  intended  primarily  for  the 
protection  of  the  civil  rights  of  the  colored  man,  was 
called  in  question  on  a  much  larger  scale  than  was 
planned  originally,  and  in  far  different  connections,  where 
corporate  and  property  rights  were  involved.  The 
clauses  prohibiting  states  to  deprive  any  person  of  life, 
liberty  or  property  without  due  process  of  law  and  forbid- 
ding denial  to  any  person  of  equal  protection  of  the  law, 
enabled  the  court  to  exercise  a  far-reaching  jurisdiction. 
This  power  was  freely  exercised,  not  only  by  the  federal 
courts  but  by  those  of  various  commonwealths.  In  the 
epoch-making  Granger  cases  (1876)  the  Court  laid  a 
broad  foundation  for  regulation  of  "  business  affected 
with  a  public  interest " —  a  milestone  in  the  advance  of 
social  policy  in  the  United  States. 

The  attitude  of  the  Supreme  Court  toward  the  income 
tax  clearly  operated  in  the  economic  interest  of  the  few, 
and  it  was  sharply  criticised,  not  only  by  publicists,  but 
by  leading  economists  of  the  type  of  SeHgman.  After 
nearly  twenty  years  of  effort,  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  was  so  amended  as  to  authorize  specifically 
the  application  of  an  income  tax.  The  Anti-Trust  Law 
of  1890  was  sustained,  but  the  rule  of  reason  developed 

say  on  Judicial  Power  and  Unconstitutional  Legislation,"  1893 
(posthumously  published). 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  151 

in  the  Standard  Oil  and  Tobacco  cases  left  the  public  mind 
in  a  dazed  condition  as  to  the  real  significance  of  the 
act.i** 

In  dealing  with  the  problems  of  monopoly  and  compe- 
tition and  of  organized  labor  and  capital,  the  courts  en- 
countered stormy  seas,  and  on  the  whole  did  not  master 
the  situation.  The  novel  and  free  use  of  the  court's  veto, 
the  strict  application  of  ancient  rules  to  new  situations, 
entirely  alienated  the  confidence  of  labor,  and  resulted  in 
the  widespread  loss  of  popular  trust  in  juristic  ability  to 
administer  even-handed  justice  in  an  admittedly  difficult 
situation.  Of  the  three  classes  of  cases,  those  affecting 
the  prohibition  of  monopoly,  the  regulation  of  industry, 
the  position  of  organized  labor,  the  court  left  the  public 
in  doubt  as  to  the  first,  perplexed  as  to  the  second,  and 
aroused  the  tmited  opposition  of  organized  labor  as  to 
the  third.  On  the  other  hand,  the  development  of  the 
"  police  power  "  by  a  process  of  judicial  reasoning,  and 
the  liberal  tendencies  developed  in  many  quarters  during 
the  last  decade,  tended  to  create  confidence  in  the  juristic 
capacity  to  frame  rules  and  canons,  adapted  to  modern 
conditions. 

On  the  whole,  the  Judiciary,  like  the  Legislative  branch 
of  the  government,  tended  to  lose  in  relation  to  the  Execu- 
tive as  the  interpreter  of  democratic  consciousness.  The 
carelessness  and  corruption  of  legislative  bodies  tended  to 
strengthen  the  position  of  the  Court  in  relation  to  that 
body,  but  the  legislative  bodies  were  more  easily  reached 
and  readily  reversed  their  decisions  without  loss  of  dignity 

10  Trans-Missouri  Case,  i66  U.  S.  290  (1897)  ;  Standard  Oil  Case, 
221,  U.  S.  I  (1911). 


152  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

or  decorum.  The  fortieth  general  assembly  might  undo 
the  work  of  the  thirty-ninth,  not  only  without  hair-split- 
ting or  mumbling  apology,  but  with  frank  recognition  of 
a  changing  situation  —  with  joy  over  their  conversion. 
If,  as  a  shrewd  political  observer  says,  "  The  Supreme 
Court  follows  the  elections  returns,"  the  legislative  bodies 
can  follow  more  quickly;  and  with  no  loss  of  dignity. 
The  Court  can  never  seem  to  run  —  it  must  always  walk, 
ponderously,  and  with  due  regard  for  the  burden  of 
precedents.^^  The  righteous  indignation  and  swift  ac- 
tion of  the  just  judge  with  a  flaming  heart  and  cool  brain 
has  sometimes  won  the  admiration  and  confidence  of  a 
community ;  but  the  combination  is  difficult. 

During  the  last  half  century  our  legal  system  was  de- 
veloped under  the  troubled  influence  of  the  new  forces 
that  have  so  profoundly  affected  the  mode  of  thought  and 
life  in  America.  The  jurists  were  confronted  with  the 
difficult  problems  of  readjustment  to  the  new  and  swiftly 
changing  situations  created  by  urbanism,  industrialism 
and  spoils  politics.  The  law  met  with  many  shocks 
during  this  time.  It  came  in  contact  with  frontier  con- 
ditions where  primitive  justice  reappeared  in  the  shape  of 
Vigilantes.  It  fell  across  the  sharp  race  conflicts  between 
black  and  white  and  white  and  yellow.  It  met  the  inertia 
of  the  local  community.  It  felt  the  weakness  of  admin- 
istrative provisions  for  law  enforcement.  It  was  touched 
by  the  blight  of  criminal  and  spoils  politics,  particularly 
in  the  great  cities.     It  was  entangled  in  the  warfare  be- 

11  "Legal  truth,"  says  Wurzel  (Juridical  Thinking,  p.  418),  "is 
bound  to  appear  strictly  logical  in  form  even  where  in  the  nature 
of  things  it  cannot  really  be  so." 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  153 

tween  economic  monopoly  and  free  competition  on  one 
side  and  the  struggle  between  union  and  employer  on  the 
other. ^^  And  it  was  strained  by  the  difficulties  of  secur- 
ing fair  litigation  between  the  poor  and  the  rich,  when 
poverty  and  wealth  stood  side  by  side  before  it. 

Our  jurisprudence  was  spared  the  force  required  to  up- 
turn the  deep-rooted  inertia  of  the  past  encountered  in 
many  other  countries,  but  on  the  other  hand  it  was  obliged 
to  struggle  for  stable  legal  principles  in  a  shifting  society 
where  gigantic  economic  forces  but  little  understood  were 
working  at  amazing  speed  in  the  midst  of  unformed  polit- 
ical tendencies  and  institutions.  The  lawyer  and  the 
judge  must  deal  with  the  political  boss  and  the  trust  and 
union  magnate,  and  the  law  itself  must  meet  the  sharp 
challenge  given  by  the  economic  interpretation  of  history 
to  its  own  standards  of  justice.  Only  the  most  brilliant 
strategy  and  tactics  executed  with  the  greatest  energy  and 
skill  would  have  been  able  to  master  this  situation  and 
develop  through  juristic  divination,  legal  logic  and  clear- 
cut  legal  formulas  the  principles  and  the  procedure  so 
nicely  adapted  to  all  the  new  situations  as  to  satisfy  the 
community  sense  of  justice.  As  the  result  of  this  situa- 
tion, both  the  spirit  and  the  form  of  the  legal  system  be- 
came a  storm  center  of  public  discussion,  which  went 
down  to  the  foundations  of  law  and  justice,  particularly 
during  the  last  quarter  of  the  century. 

Roughly  speaking  the  first  half  of  the  period  under  dis- 
cussion was  characterized  by  the  dominance  of  complais- 
ance and  conservatism  as  to  organization  and  political 

12  See  Sir  Frederick  Pollock  in  "  The  Genius  of  the  Common 
Law,"  Ch.  VII  on  "  Perils  of  the  Market-Place." 


154  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

theory,  while  during  the  second  part  of  the  period  there 
began  a  pronounced  tendency  toward  sharp  criticism  of 
the  technical  organization  of  the  court  and  of  the  under- 
lying philosophy  upon  which  its  decisions  were  based. 
At  the  same  time  there  began  a  constructive  movement 
for  judicial  reform  not  unlike  in  its  general  spirit  —  al- 
though, of  course,  wholly  different  in  its  immediate  meth- 
ods and  purposes  —  that  of  Bentham  in  England  during 
the  first  quarter  of  the  19th  century.  At  the  very  time 
when  the  status  quo  in  the  world  of  judges  and  jurispru- 
dence seemed  most  firmly  established,  the  revolution 
against  its  form  and  spirit  was  taking  definite  shape  in  the 
popular  mind,  in  the  ranks  of  the  bar,  in  the  schools  of 
law,  and  in  the  innermost  circles  of  the  very  highest 
courts.  The  central  point  of  theoretical  interest  during 
this  period  was  the  relation  of  the  judiciary  to  the  de- 
termination of  questions  of  public  policy. 

The  prevailing  theory  of  the  relation  of  the  courts  to 
the  machinery  of  government  was  somewhat  as  follows : 
The  Constitution  of  the  state  or  the  nation,  as  the  case 
may  be,  has  guaranteed  certain  fundamental  protections 
to  persons  and  property  as  against  the  government.  Con- 
stitutions have  further  divided  the  powers  of  government 
into  three  distinct  branches.  If  the  legislative  or  execu- 
tive department  overrides  these  constitutional  rights  of  in- 
dividuals, it  then  becomes  the  function  of  the  court  to 
declare  such  attempt  void  and  to  refuse  to  carry  it  into 
effect.  The  courts  have  been  made  the  special  guardians 
of  the  fundamental  guarantees  of  the  Constitution,  and 
have  been  given  the  right  and  duty  of  protecting  them 
against  all  other  parts  of  the  government,  whenever  in  the 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  155 

opinion  of  the  court  they  have  been  transgressed.  This, 
it  was  said,  was  one  of  the  pecuHar  and  distinguishing 
features  of  the  American  system  of  government,  and  one 
by  which  it  may  be  differentiated  from  all  other  govern- 
ments, even  those  which  are  constitutional  and  democratic. 
This  doctrine  was  clearly  stated  by  many  eminent  jurists 
and  by  various  courts  of  the  states  of  the  United  States. 
The  distinguished  publicist  Burgess  said,  "  It  is  then 
the  consciousness  of  the  American  people  that  law  must 
rest  upon  justice  and  reason,  that  the  constitution  is  a 
more  ultimate  formulation  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  justice  and  reason  than  mere  legislative  acts,  and  that 
the  judiciary  is  a  better  interpreter  of  those  fundamental 
principles  than  the  legislature."  ^^  "  I  do  not  hesitate," 
said  Burgess,  "  to  call  the  governmental  system  of  the 
United  States  the  aristocracy  of  the  robe  and  I  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  pronounce  this  the  truest  aristocracy  for  the  pur- 
poses of  government  which  the  world  has  yet  pro- 
duced." 1* 

Judge  Dillon  declared  "If  we  are  not  struck  with  ju- 
dicial blindness,  we  cannot  fail  to  see  that  what  is  now  to 
be  feared  and  guarded  against  is  the  despotism  of  the 
many  —  of  the  majority."  ^^  Of  the  opposite  theory 
Judge  Dillon  said,  "  It  is  the  doctrine  of  absolutism,  pure, 

""Political  Science,"  II,  p.  365. 

""The  Court,"  said  Evarts,  in  the  New  York  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1867,  "is  the  representative  of  the  justice  of  the 
State,  and  not  of  its  power.  .  .  .  The  judge  is  not  to  declare  the 
will  of  the  sovereigfnty,  whether  that  sovereignty  reside  in  a  crowned 
king,  in  an  aristocracy,  or  in  the  unnumbered  and  unnamed  mass  of 
the  people."    Ill,  2367. 

IS "  Laws  and  Jurisprudence  of  England  and  America,"  p.  204, 
quoting  114  U.  S.  291. 


156  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

simple  and  naked,  and  of  communism  which  is  its  twin 
.  .  .  the  double  progeny  of  the  same  evil  birth."  ^^  It 
was  believed  that  the  great  advantage  arising  under  this 
plan  was  that  it  afforded  fundamental  rights  of  private 
property  and  of  personal  rights,  a  degree  of  security  which 
they  could  not  possibly  obtain  elsewhere  or  otherwise  un- 
der republican  government;  that  it  prevented  hasty  and 
unwise  legislation  of  a  type  to  which  democracy  not  so 
safe-guarded  would  be  only  too  prone ;  that  it  made  pos- 
sible the  protection  of  the  minority  against  the  majority. 
It  had  long  been  held  that  the  courts  might  negative 
legislative  acts  regarded  by  them  as  unconstitutional.  At 
first  the  tendency  was  to  declare  acts  void  because  of 
conflict  with  natural  law  or  justice,  for  violation  of  the 
principles  of  the  social  compact,  for  contravening  the 
fundamental  limitations  laid  down  by  Locke. ^^  In 
Trevett  v.  Weeden  (1786),^'^"  the  Court  argued  that  the 
Legislature  could  not  alter  the  fundamental  laws  of  the 
State,  and  in  support  of  their  contention  quoted  Locke 
and  Vattell.     In  Bowman  v.  Middleton,^^*"  the  Judges  held 

18  Compare  Woodrow  Wilson,  "  Constitutional  Government," 
Chap.  VI ;  A.  L.  Lowell,  "  Essays  on  Grovernment  " ;  Hadley,  "  Free- 
dom and  Responsibility,"  p.  23. 

I'^Two  Treatises  on  Government,  Sec.  135-140  (i68g).  Locke's 
four  limitations  were  that  the  legislative  body  cannot  "  be  ab- 
solutely arbitrary  over  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  the  people  " ;  must 
rule  "by  promulgated  standing  laws  and  known  authorized  judges"; 
"cannot  take  from  any  man  any  part  of  his  property  without  his 
own  consent " ;  "  cannot  transfer  the  power  of  making  laws." 
A.  C.  McLaughlin,  "  The  Courts,  the  Constitution,  and  Parties,"  Ch. 
I;  E.  S.  Corwin,  "The  Doctrine  of  Judicial  Review." 

1^*  Chandler's  Criminal  Trials,  269. 

iT«>  I  Bay  (S.  C.)  252. 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  157 

the  "  plaintiff  could  claim  no  title  under  the  act  in  ques- 
tion, as  it  was  against  common  right  as  well  as  against 
Magna  Charta  .  ,  .  that  the  act  was  therefore  ipso  facto. 
void."  In  Calder  v.  Bull  (1798),  (3  Dall  386),  Justice 
Chase  said,  "  that  there  are  acts  which  the  federal  or 
state  legislatures  cannot  do  without  exceeding  their  au- 
thority. There  are  certain  vital  principles  in  our  free 
republican  governments  which  will  determine  and  over- 
rule an  apparent  and  flagrant  abuse  of  legislative  power; 
as  to  authorize  manifest  injustice  by  positive  law,  or  to 
take  away  that  security  for  personal  liberty  or  private 
property  for  the  protection  whereof  the  government  was 
established.  An  act  of  the  Legislature  (for  I  cannot  call 
it  a  law)  contrary  to  the  great  first  principles  of  the  social 
compact  cannot  be  considered  a  rightful  exercise  of  legis- 
lative authority."  ^^  But  later  the  theory  upon  which 
this  power  rested  was  that  the  higher  law  of  the  Consti- 
tution is  superior  to  the  subordinate  law  of  the  Legisla- 
ture created  by  the  Constitution.  This  has  been  named 
the  doctrine  of  "  paramount  law."  ^^ 

Under  the  sharp  stress  of  new  industrial  conditions, 

1'  In  Vanhorne's  Lessee  v.  Dorrance,  2  Dall,  304-1795',  natural 
rights  and  the  letter  of  the  Constitution  were  combined  in  the 
court's  argument. 

^8  Marbury  v.  Madison,  i  Cranch  137,  1803.  A  clear  statement 
of  the  early  theory  of  limited  authority  is  found  in  1853,  in 
Sharpless  v.  The  Mayor  of  Philadelphia,  21  Pa.  St.  147,  in  which  the 
Court  said:  "The  judges  can  be  imagined  to  be  as  corrupt  and 
as  wicked  as  legislators.  What  is  worse  still,  the  judges  arc  al- 
most entirely  irresponsible,  and  heretofore  they  have  been  altogether 
so,  while  the  members  of  the  legislature  who  would  do  the  imagin- 
ary things  referred  to  '  would  be  scourged  into  retirement  by  their 
indignant  masters.'" 


158  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  power  of  the  courts  was  invoked  in  repeated  instances 
to  invalidate  laws  expressing  a  social  policy  of  the  com- 
munity. Among  such  acts  were  those  affecting  the  hours 
and  conditions  of  labor  and  the  so-called  employers'  lia- 
bility acts.  In  addition  to  these  came  the  use  of  the 
injunction  in  industrial  disputes  and  a  long  series  of  cases 
involving  picketing,  boycotting  and  unionizing.^*^ 

Now  appears  the  more  highly  developed  theory  that 
laws  may  be  negatived  for  reasons  explicitly  or  implicitly, 
involving  differences  of  social  policy.  In  Loan  Asso- 
ciation V.  Topeka,  1874,  the  court  said:  "  There  are  lim- 
itations on  such  power  (i.  e.  of  Government)  which  grow 
out  of  the  essential  nature  of  all  free  governments,  implied 
reservations  of  individual  rights  without  which  the  social 
compact  could  not  exist,  and  which  are  respected  by  all 
governments  entitled  to  the  name.  .  .  .  This  is  not  legis- 
lation.    It  is  a  decree  under  legislative  forms."  ^^ 

It  is  true  that  in  the  Granger  cases  in  1876  (Munn  v. 
111.  94  U.  S.  113)  the  Court  developed  the  advanced 
doctrine  that  the  state  may  regulate  business  "  affected 
with  a  public  interest "  in  spite  of  the  vigorous  dissent- 
ing opinion  of  Justice  Field.  But  from  this  time  for- 
ward the  doctrine  of  inherent  limitations  upon  legis- 
lative power  was  developed  and  applied  in  new  and  vary- 
ing forms  of  "  public  purpose,"  "  freedom  of  contract," 
"  economic  liberty,"  "  due  process  of  law." 

20  Commons  and  Andrews,  in  "  History  of  Labor  in  the  U.  S.," 
2,  p.  501  ff.    Report  of  the   Industrial  Relations   Commission,  Vol. 

I,  38  (191S). 

21 20  Wall.  655.  See  also  Toledo  v.  Jacksonville,  67  111.  ^7  — 
1873;  In  re  Jacobs,  98  N.  Y.,  1885;  Godcharles  v.  Wigeman,  113  Pa. 
431  —  1886;  Millett  V.  People,  117  111.  294. 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  159 

The  doctrine  of  "  liberty  "  was  invoked  by  the  Court 
against  various  forms  of  social  legislation.  When  the 
Pennsylvania  Legislature  undertook  to  prohibit  the  pay- 
ment of  certain  workers  in  store  orders  instead  of  cash, 
the  Supreme  Court  of  that  state  held  that  the  coordinate 
branch  of  the  government  was  transgressing  the  limits  of 
its  power  and  infringing  on  certain  inherent  rights.  The 
acts  of  the  legislature  are  an  infringement  alike  of  the 
right  of  the  employer  and  the  employee.  More  than  this, 
"  it  is  an  insulting  attempt  to  put  the  laborer  under  a 
legislative  tutelage  which  is  not  only  degrading  to  his 
manhood  but  subversive  of  his  rights  as  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States." 

When  the  New  York  Legislature  attempted  to  restrain 
the  manufacture  of  cigars  in  tenement  houses,  the  court 
held  that  this  was  the  natural  right  of  a  cigar  maker  guar- 
anteed to  him  under  the  Constitution  and  not  to  be  taken 
away  by  the  law-making  body.  Mr.  Peter  Jacobs,  de- 
fended by  the  brilliant  Wiliam  M.  Evarts,^^  was  held  to 
be  threatened  in  his  liberties,  and  was  accordingly  given 
protection  from  the  law,  as  against  the  legislature,  which 
the  court  said  "  arbitrarily  deprives  him  of  his  property 
and  of  some  portion  of  his  personal  liberty."  "  Liberty 
in  its  broad  sense,"  said  the  judges,  "  as  understood  in 
this  country  means  the  right,  not  only  of  freedom  from 
actual  servitude,  imprisonment  or  restraint,  but  the  righi 
of  one  to  use  his  faculties  in  all  lawful  ways,  to  live  and 
work  where  he  will,  to  earn  his  livelihood  in  any  lawful 
calling  and  to  pursue  any  lawful  trade  or  avocation." 
"If  such  legislation  can  be  sanctioned,"  said  the  court, 

'*  "  The  Arguments  and  Speeches  of  W.  M.  Evarts." 


l6o  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

*'  we  are  not  far  removed  from  the  time  when  govern- 
mental prefects  supervised  the  building  of  houses,  the 
rearing  of  cattle,  the  sowing  of  seed  and  the  reaping  of 
grain,  and  governmental  ordinances  regulated  the  move- 
ments and  labor  of  artisans,  the  rate  of  wages,  the  price 
of  food,  the  diet  and  clothing  of  the  people,  and  a  large 
range  of  other  affairs  long  since  in  all  civilised  lands  re- 
garded as  outside  of  governmental  functions."  ^' 

The  Colorado  Legislature  passed  an  eight-hour  law 
applicable  to  the  smelting  industry,  but  this,  too,  was  held 
an  interference  with  the  inalienable  right  of  labor.^^  If 
we  are  to  follow  the  logic  of  the  legislature,  said  the 
court,  it  would  be  lawful  to  compel  men  to  work  14  to  16 
hours  a  day  to  keep  them  from  drunkenness  and  idleness. 
It  might  be  required  that  no  man  weighing  less  than  120 
pounds  work  in  a  stone  quarry;  that  only  those  with 
good  eyesight  engage  in  watchmaking;  that  those  suffer- 
ing from  a  sluggish  liver  be  forbidden  to  follow  sedentary 
occupations;  that  the  sale  and  quality  of  garments,  that 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  food  and  beverages  might  be 
regulated,  and  conceivably  a  minimum  wage  for  the 
support  of  the  workers  might  be  established  by  law  — 
all  of  which  the  judges  believed  were  illustrations  of  im- 
possible and  undesirable  situations. 

In  Illinois,  the  "  truck  act  "  was  likewise  held  void,  as 
an  interference  with  liberty  of  contract. ^^  The  Court 
believed  that  the  workers  must  be  protected  in  their 
rights,  even  against  any  presumed  social  stigma.     "  Those 

"  In  re  Jacobs  98  N.  Y.  98,  1885,  Cf .  Roosevelt's  Autobiography. 
2*  In  re  Morgan,  26  Colo.  415,  1899. 
"Frorer  v.  People,  141  111.  171   (1892). 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  l6l 

who  are  entitled  to  exercise  the  elective  franchise  are 
deemed  e<:juals  before  the  law,  and  it  is  not  advisable  to 
arbitrarily  brand  by  statute  one  class  of  them,  without 
reference  to  and  wholly  irrespective  of  their  actual  good 
or  bad  behavior,  as  too  unscrupulous  and  the  other  class 
as  too  imbecile  or  timid  and  weak  to  exercise  that  freedom 
in  contracting  which  is  allowed  to  all  others."  In  a  sim- 
ilar case  in  West  Virginia  ^"  the  Justice  said :  "  The  prop- 
erty which  every  man  has  in  his  own  labor,  as  it  is  the 
original  foundation  of  all  other  property,  so  it  is  the  most 
sacred  and  inviolable.  The  patrimony  of  the  poor  man 
lies  in  the  strength  and  dexterity  of  his  own  hands,  and  to 
hinder  him  from  employing  these  in  what  manner  he 
may  think  proper,  without  injury  to  his  neighbor,  is  a 
plain  violation  of  this  most  sacred  property."  In  a  long 
series  of  cases  arising  under  laws  regulating  the  hours 
and  conditions  of  labor,  the  natural  liberty  of  contract 
was  held  to  be  assailed  by  the  law-makers  and  therefore 
placed  under  the  protection  of  the  Court.^'^ 

In  Lochner  v.  New  York  (198  U.  S.  45,  1905)  the 
Court  held  void  a  law  limiting  the  hours  of  certain  work- 
ers, saying:  "  It  is  unfortunately  true  that  labor,  even  in 
any  department,  may  possibly  carry  with  it  the  seeds  of 
unhealthiness.  But  are  we  all  on  that  account  at  the 
mercy  of  legislative  majorities?  The  act  is  not  a  legiti- 
mate exercise  of  police  power,  but  a  meddlesome  interfer- 
ence with  the  rights  of  individuals."     In  another  case 


"State  V.  Goodwill,  33  W.  Va.  179  (i? 

*^  See  Wilcutt  &  Sons  Co.  v.  Driscoll,  200  Mass.  no,  in  which 
the  doctrine  of  probable  and  natural  "  expectancy "  was  developed. 
Also  Adair  v.  U.  S.,  208  U.  S.  161  (1908). 


l62  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

(Ives  V.  South  Buffalo  Railroad  Company,  201  N,  Y.  271, 
191 1 )  said  the  Court:  "  In  a  government  like  ours  theor- 
ies of  public  good  or  necessity,  are  often  so  plausible  or 
sound  as  to  command  popular  approval;  but  courts  are 
not  permitted  to  forget  that  the  law  is  the  only  chart  by 
which  the  ship  of  state  is  to  be  guided." 

It  was  said  that  the  power  of  the  court  is  the  only 
practical  safeguard  against  the  unrestrained  will  of  the 
people.  In  other  words,  this  power  of  the  court  was 
regarded  as  the  corner-stone  of  liberty  —  the  basis  upon 
which  our  Constitution  is  raised.  Whether  the  judges 
thought  that  the  decisions  of  the  courts  as  to  fundamental 
rights  were  final  interpretations  both  of  justice  and  of 
policy  was  not  always  made  clear.  In  many  instances 
it  seemed  that  they  so  looked  upon  their  verdict,  forget- 
ting even  the  processes  of  constitutional  amendment. 
Thus  Goodnow  says :  ^^  "  The  courts  of  the  United  States 
have  really  taken  the  position  that  there  is  no  due  process 
of  law  by  which  the  individual  may  he  deprived  of  these 
absolute,  substantive,  inherent  natural  rights."  The 
Court  held  in  substance  that  there  are  certain  rights  of 
persons  and  property  outside  the  field  of  government: 
that  the  courts  must  not  only  maintain  the  forms  of  pro- 
cedure in  the  protection  of  these  rights,  as  in  the  case  of 
"  due  process,"  but  that  the  old  content  of  these  rights, 
without  regard  to  social  changes,  must  be  maintained. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  trace  the  economic  and  social  theory 
underlying  juristic  logic  in  many  instances.  In  the  in- 
come tax  case,  for  example,  Justice  Field  said :  "  The 
present  assault  upon  capital  is  but  the  beginning.     It  will 

28  "  Principles,"  p.  267. 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  J63 

be  but  the  stepping  stone  to  others  larger  and  more  sweep- 
ing, until  our  political  contests  will  become  a  war  of  the 
poor  against  the  rich ;  a  war  constantly  growing  in  inten- 
sity and  bitterness."  "  If,"  said  the  Court,  in  the 
workmen's  compensation  case  in  New  York,  "  such  eco- 
nomic and  sociological  arguments  as  are  here  advanced 
in  support  of  the  statute  can  be  allowed  to  subvert 
the  fundamental  idea  of  property,  then  there  is  no  pri- 
vate right  entirely  safe,  because  there  is  no  limitation 
upon  the  absolute  discretion  of  the  legislature  and  the 
guarantees  of  the  Constitution  are  a  mere  waste  of 
words."  ^®  In  the  famous  tenement  house  case  of  New 
York  the  Court  said,  in  negativing  the  act :  "  What  pos- 
sible relation  can  cigar  making  in  any  building  have  to 
the  health  of  the  general  public?  "  The  court  could  not 
see  how  a  cigar-maker  "  is  to  be  improved  in  his  health  or 
his  morals  by  forcing  him  from  his  home  and  its  hallowed 
associations  and  beneficent  influence."  ^^  Judge  Jackson 
said,  in  his  famous  injunction  opinion :  ^^  "I  do  not 
recognize  the  right  of  laborers  to  conspire  together  to 
compel  employes  who  are  not  dissatisfied  with  their  work 
in  the  mines  to  lay  down  their  picks  and  shovels  and  to 
quit  their  work  without  just  or  proper  reason  therefor, 
merely  to  gratify  a  professional  set  of  agitators,  organ- 
izers and  walking  delegates  who  roam  all  over  the  coun- 
try as  agents  for  some  combination,  who  are  vampires, 
that  live  and  fatten  on  the  honest  labor  of  the  coal  miners 

28  Compare  Horace  Stern,  "  An  Examination  of  Justice  Field's 
Work  in  Constitutional  Law,"  in  "  Great  American  Lawyers." 
Miscellaneous  writings  of  Joseph  P.  Bradley,  1902. 

30  98  N.  Y.  1 14. 

'^U.  S.  V.  Haggerty,  116  Fed.  510  —  (1902). 


l64  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

of  the  country,  and  who  are  busybodies,  creating  dissat- 
isfaction amongst  a  class  of  people  who  are  quiet,  well 
disposed,  and  who  do  not  want  to  be  disturbed  by  the  un- 
ceasing agitation  of  this  class  of  people."  ^^ 

On  the  other  hand,  the  court  had  developed  a  notable 
doctrine  of  the  right  of  public  regulation  over  business 
affected  with  a  public  interest  in  the  Granger  cases,  and 
had  sustained  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  and  the  Sher- 
man Anti-Trust  Law.  The  Granger  cases  stand  as  a 
landmark  in  the  development  of  the  power  of  governmen- 
tal regulation.  The  Court  here  held  that  property  is 
"  clothed  with  a  public  interest  when  used  in  a  manner 
to  make  it  of  public  consequence  and  affect  the  com- 
munity at  large.  When,  therefore,  one  devotes  his  prop- 
erty to  a  use  in  which  the  public  has  an  interest,  he  in 
effect  grants  to  the  public  an  interest  in  that  use,  and  must 
submit  to  be  controlled  by  the  public  for  the  common 
good,  to  the  extent  of  the  interest  he  has  thus  created." 
"  For  protection  against  abuses  by  legislatures  the  peo- 
ple must  resort  to  the  polls,  not  to  the  courts."  Further- 
more, the  court  had  built  up  through  a  long  series  of  deci- 
sions the  doctrine  which  came  to  be  known  as  the  "  police 
power  "  under  which  a  great  variety  of  legislative  acts 
otherwise  unconstitutional  were  neatly  sustained.^^     This 

•2  See  also  the  still  more  emphatic  utterances  in  ii6  Fed.  520. 
But  see  Francis  M.  Burdick,  "  Is  Law  the  Expression  of  Class 
Selfishness  ?  "  Harvard  Law  Review,  25-349.  On  the  other  hand, 
see  Hadley,  "  Undercurrents  in  American  Politics,"  Chap.  II. 

33  See  Ernest  Freund,  "The  Police  Power"  (1904).  Also, 
"  Standards  of  American  Legislation,"  1917.  Also  article  on  "  Police 
Power"  in  McLaughlin  and  Hart  "Cyclopaedia  of  American  Gov- 
prnment." 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  165 

power  was  never  carefully  outlined,  but  was  held  to  be 
a  general  authority  to  protect  the  health,  safety,  morals, 
comfort  and  convenience  of  the  community.  It  was  de- 
fined by  Freund  as  "  the  power  which  has  for  its  imme- 
diate object  the  futherance  of  a  public  welfare  through 
restraint  and  compulsion  exercised  over  private  rights." 
It  was  invoked  in  the  regulation  of  public  utility  corpor- 
ations to  justify  control  over  their  rates  and  service,  and 
used  in  a  wide  variety  of  measures  touching  public  safety, 
morals  and  order,  labor  legislation,  the  protection  of 
women  and  children,  and  the  regulation  of  various  pub- 
lic callings. 

Particularly  in  the  field  of  public  morals  were  the 
decisions  of  the  courts  favorable  to  vigorous  legislative 
action.  Laws  prohibiting  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors 
were  usually  sustained,  but  this  principle  had  been  estab- 
lished before  the  Civil  War.^*  Other  classes  of  laws 
afifecting  the  public  morals,  public  safety  and  public  health 
were  frequently  approved  by  the  courts  who  found  at  these 
points  that  "  personal  liberty  "  must  yield  to  the  "  public 
interest."  The  police  power  afforded  a  convenient  way 
of  escape  from  a  rigid  and  otherwise  inelastic  system, 
and  made  possible  a  long  series  of  laws  otherwise  under 
the  ban.  It  furnished  a  safety  valve  for  needed  legis- 
lation which  might  otherwise  have  been  delayed.  It 
opened  a  way  toward  progressive  social  policies  which  for 
a  time  seemed  to  be  effectively  barred  except  by  the  diffi- 
cult processes  of  constitutional  amendment  or  through  the 
slow  changes  in  the  personnel  or  opinions  of  the  judges. 
In  cases  where  the  economic  relations  between  labor  and 
**  Freund,  "  Standards,"  p.  197. 


l66  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

capital  were  not  directly  involved,  the  police  power  was 
on  the  whole  very  freely  invoked  to  prevent  interference 
with  legislative  programs.'^  That  a  clear  line  of  political 
theory  was  followed  no  one  contended.  On  the  contrary, 
the  court  declined  to  define  the  police  power  sharply 
and  left  the  free  development  of  the  doctrine  to  be  pieced 
out  case  by  case  as  occasion  arose. 

At  the  same  time  there  were  distinct  developments  of 
the  power  of  public  bodies  to  carry  on  specific  types  of 
enterprise.  In  the  famous  case  of  Loan  Association  v. 
Topeka  (20  Wall.  655)  the  Supreme  Court  had  held  that 
the  city  of  Topeka,  Kansas,  could  not  issue  bonds  in  aid 
of  the  King  Bridge  Company.^"  The  Massachusetts 
Supreme  Court  held,  in  1892,  in  an  advisory  opinion,^'' 
that  it  lay  beyond  the  power  of  the  municipality  to  enter 
into  the  fuel  business.  It  had  also  been  held  unconstitu- 
tional to  appropriate  money  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing 
seed  grain  for  farmers,^*  or  to  issue  bonds  for  reimburse- 
ment of  inhabitants  of  a  burned-over  district  in  Massa- 
chusetts;^® or  again,  to  provide  funds  for  a  municipal 
plumbing  store  (iSq/)."*^  In  the  later  cases,  however, 
a  much  more  liberal  attitude  was  assumed.     This  was 

35  For  example,  Jacobson  v.  Mass  (1905),  I97  U.  S.  11,  sus- 
taining a  vaccination  law,  and  McCray  v.  U.  S.,  195  U.  S.  27 
(1904),  sustaining  the  anti-oleomargarine  law. 

'« See  Yale  Law  Journal,  Vol.  27,  p.  824,  Note  on  Municipal 
Fuel  Yards. 

»T  Opinion  of  the  Judges,  155  Mass.  598;  again,  in  1903,  182 
Mass.  605. 

"8  State  V.  Osawakee,  14  Kans.  418  (1875). 

"Lowe  V.  Boston,  in  Mass.  454  (1873). 

**Keen  v.  Waycross,  lOi  Ga.  588. 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  167 

notably  true  in  the  famous  Portland  case,*^  where  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Maine  held  that  the  city  might  sell  fuel 
to  its  citizens  without  contravening  the  fundamentals  of 
government.^  ^ 

The  conservative  spirit  of  the  law  was  not  frequently 
formulated  in  strictly  systematic  fashion.  Indeed,  it 
was  less  in  need  of  formal  statement,  for  it  stood  upon 
the  philosophy  of  precedent  involved  in  the  recognized 
doctrine  of  stare  decisis.  In  case  after  case,  however, 
the  conservative  theory  was  assumed  and  applied  by  the 
courts  in  dealing  with  specific  issues  as  they  were  pre- 
sented in  litigation.^^  Fundamentally  the  legal  system 
rested  upon  the  English  common  law  as  a  basis  for  for- 

■*!  Laughlin  v.  Portland,  iii  Maine  486  (1914)  ;  Jones  v.  City  of 
Portland,  210  U.  S.  217  (1917).  See  also  the  Homestead  Commis- 
sion case,  Opinion  of  the  Justices,  211  Mass.  624  (1912). 

*2  Mr.  Pound  has  also  indicated  various  points  at  which  the  pri- 
vate law  has  been  greatly  socialized,  enumerating  seven  specific 
instances : 

(rst)  In  regard  to  limitations  on  the  property  and  so-called  anti- 
social exercise  of  rights ; 

(2nd)   Regarding  limitations  on   freedom   of  contract; 

(3rd)   Limitations  on  the  jus  disponendi; 

(4th)  Limitations  on  the  power  of  the  creditor  or  injured  party 
to  exact  satisfaction ; 

(5th)  The  imposition  of  liability  without  fault,  particularly  in 
the  form  of  responsibility  for  agencies  employed ; 

(6th)  The  change  of  res  commune  and  res  nullius  into  res 
publicae ; 

(7th)  Insistence  upon  the  interest  of  society  in  dependent  mem- 
bers of  the  household.  See  Harvard  Law  Review,  Vol.  27,  p.  195. 
Compare  Ely's  "  Property  and  Contract." 

*^  See  cases  cited  by  Pound,  passim;  and  Freund,  "  Standards  of 
American  Legislation." 


l68  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

mulation  and  decisions.  But  the  courts  tended  to  regard 
the  common  law  as  a  closed  book,  as  a  classical  body  of 
legal  principles  of  continuing  application  without  much 
regard  to  the  changes  in  social  and  economic  conditions. 
What  Sir  Frederick  Pollock  called  "  the  genius  of  the 
common  law  "  was  not  always  clearly  in  evidence,  al- 
though apparent  from  time  to  time  in  individual  instances. 
The  toughness  of  the  texture  of  the  common  law  rested 
upon  an  English  characteristic  which  the  famous  com- 
mentator Bagehot  called  an  "  illogical  moderation  " —  a 
fine  touch  and  a  discriminating  sense  in  determining  the 
general  spirit  and  tendencies  of  the  time  and  weaving 
them  skilfully  into  the  fabric  of  the  law.  The  extreme 
rapidity  with  which  economic  conditions  were  changing 
made  the  application  of  such  a  principle  difficult  at  best 
—  particularly  when  these  changes  radically  altered  the 
ways  of  life  and  the  relation  of  class  to  class  as  in  the 
last  half  century. 

The  underlying  political  principle  of  the  conservative 
theory  was  that  of  laissez  faire.  "  The  characteristics  of 
the  early  common  law  were  essentially  individualistic  in 
nature,"  says  Freund.  The  law,  said  he,  favored  prop- 
erty and  the  possessor,  was  based  upon  the  ideas  and 
principles  of  the  propertied  middle  class  as  against  the 
non-propertied,  and  developed  prior  to  the  times  of  the 
working  class  movement.  In  addition  to  this,  the  orig- 
inal tendency,  our  courts  generally  adopted  the  laissez 
faire  theory  of  economics  current  in  the  early  part  of  the 
19th  century.  To  this  they  added,  as  time  went  on,  the 
doctrines  of  the  English  sociologist  Herbert  Spencer, 
who   endeavored  to  translate  the   doctrines   of   natural 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  169 

law  and  the  Manchester  school  of  economics  into  the 
current  language  of  natural  science.  The  essence  of  this 
philosophy  was  that  the  burden  of  proof  rests  strongly 
upon  any  effort  to  expand  the  functions  of  the  govern- 
ment in  any  direction.  This  theory  was  stated  in  the 
decisions  of  the  courts  and  became  particularly  clear 
whenever  the  law  touched  on  the  questions  requiring 
a  readjustment  of  judicial  standards  to  meet  new  con- 
ditions of  labor  and  production.  Notable  illustrations  of 
this  were  seen  in  their  attitude  toward  the  liability  of  em- 
ployers to  employes  in  case  of  accident  under  new  work- 
ing conditions,  and  particularly  in  the  position  toward 
social  legislation  designed  to  ameliorate  abuses  arising 
in  the  course  of  the  new  working  conditions,  as  the  lim- 
itation of  the  hours  of  labor,*^  the  definition  and 
limitation  of  nature  of  "  public  purpose,"  and  in  other 
cases  involving  readjustment  of  the  law  to  new  industrial 
and  urban  conditions.  Where  industrial  relations  were 
concerned,  liberty  of  contract,  individual  rights,  freedom, 
equality,  justice  were  construed  upon  the  fundamental 
hypothesis  of  the  desirability  of  a  minimum  governmen- 
tal interference  with  the  affairs  of  individuals.  The 
assumption  constantly  in  evidence  was  that  the  individual 
best  knew  his  own  interest  and  that  the  state  should  not 
interfere  with  his  conduct  unless  in  a  very  grave  emer- 
gency and  an  emergency  of  the  type  already  indicated 
under  the  classical  common  law.  But  this  did  not  hold 
true  where  moral  considerations  were  involved. 

A  systematic  statement  of  the  prevailing  legal  philos- 
ophy was  that  made  by  James  C.  Carter,  a  leader  of  the 

**  See  Freund,  op.  ctt.  for  abundant  illustrations  of  this  attitude. 


I/O  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

American  bar  in  his  day,^^  in  "  Law  and  its  Origin, 
Growth  and  Function."  *^  This  volume  presents  a  pic- 
ture of  a  type  of  political  theory,  widely  prevailing  in 
juristic  circles.  Carter  held  that  law  is  a  rule  of  social 
conduct  growing  out  of  human  experience,  a  result  of 
custom  and  growth  —  evolution,  in  the  modern  termi- 
lology.  These  rules  are  found  or  discovered  by  the  judges 
on  inquiry  and  are  applied  to  specific  cases  as  occasion 
required.  They  cannot  be  created;  they  are  preexisting, 
awaiting  discovery  and  application.  "  Society,"  said 
Carter,  "  cannot  at  will  change  its  customs.  Indeed,  it 
cannot  will  to  change  them."  ^"^  Reform  can  be  brought 
about  only  through  unreflective  custom,  or  through  indi- 
viduals, and  "  by  a  change  and  improvement  in  their 
thoughts."  It  follows  then  that  the  legal  system  should 
be  left  to  the  judges  in  the  course  of  litigation,  the  court 
discovering  any  applying  the  fixed  rules  of  justice  grow- 
ing out  of  historically  created  situations. 

His  guiding  principle  of  widest  application  was  taken 
from  the  Spencerian  adaptation  of  the  Manchester  school 
of  economics,  namely :  "  The  sole  function  both  of  law 
and  legislation  is  to  secure  to  each  individual  the  utmost 
liberty  which  he  can  enjoy  consistently  with  the  preser- 
vation of  the  like  liberty  to  all  others."  *^  Or,  applying 
the  idea  more  closely  to  the  courts :  "  The  sole  function  of 
the  judicial  power  is  to  preserve  the  peace  of  society  and 
leave  its  members  to  work  out  their  own  happiness  and 

*'  See  Lewis,  "  Great  American  Lawyers." 
*•  Published  posthumously,  1907. 
<T  P.  320. 
«  P.  337. 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  171 

that  of  their  fellows  by  a  free  exercise  of  their  own 
powers."  ^® 

Broadly  speaking,  then,  the  fundamental  political 
theory  of  the  court  was  that  of  a  minimum  interference 
with  persons  and  property,  as  a  general  social  policy. 
Where  public  opinion  was  strongly  and  continuously  ex- 
pressed, as  in  regard  to  public  utilities  or  trusts,  the  court 
was  inclined  toward  a  liberal  view:  or  in  cases  where  a 
principle  classifiable  under  morality  was  concerned,  the 
judicial  attitude  was  also  favorable  to  state  action.  The 
"  police  power  "  was  the  great  formula  to  compass  social 
legislation  otherwise  inadmissable. 

In  the  latter  part  of  this  period,  there  arose  a  storm  of 
protest  against  the  attitude  of  the  courts,  and  there  was 
a  vigorous  effort  to  limit  the  discretion  of  the  judges  in 
various  ways.  The  decision  of  the  court  in  the  Income 
Tax  case,  in  negativing  measures  of  social  legislation,  the 
free  use  of  the  injunction  in  industrial  disputes,  and  other 
decisions  of  a  like  character,  aroused  intense  and  pro- 
longed indignation  in  many  quarters.  At  first  the  pro- 
tests were  characterized  more  by  their  fury  than  by 
their  keenness  or  intelligence,  but  gradually  the  oppo- 
sition focused  more  closely  upon  the  issues,  and  at  the 
close  of  this  period  many  distinguished  jurists  united  in 
condemning  the  action  and  policy  of  the  court.  Indeed, 
the  most  distinguished  of  these  were  members  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  who  in  their  various 

**  P.  323 :  Cf.  Harlan  F.  Stone,  "  Law  and  Its  Administration," 
1915,  p.  44.  J.  E.  Keeler,  Yale  Law  Journal,  V.  14,  "  Survival  of 
the  Theory  of  Natural  Rights  in  Judicial  Decisions."  Morris  R. 
Cohen,  "  Jus  Naturale  Redivivum."  Phil.  Rev.  25,  761. 


172  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

dissenting  opinions  stated  the  ground  for  objection  most 
clearly.  The  list  of  those  who  protested  included  a  long 
series  of  publicists,  from  Bryan  to  La  FoUette  and  Roose- 
velt, and  publicists  of  the  type  of  Goodnow,  Pound  and 
Freund.  They  held  that  the  courts  were  applying  i8th 
century  theories  of  economics  and  social  policy  to  new 
and  changed  conditions;  that  they  were  departing  from 
the  original  principle  that  only  in  cases  where  there 
was  a  clear  transgression  of  a  constitutional  restriction 
should  there  be  any  effort  to  negative  the  act  by  the 
court.^" 

It  is  significant  that  the  conservative  tendency  had  no 
sooner  reached  its  full  formulation  in  court  decisions  and 
in  systematic  statement  than  a  liberal  movement  appeared 
in  the  field  of  jurisprudence.  The  popular  criticisms  of 
the  courts  and  of  the  legal  system  began  in  the  '90's  to 
take  on  a  scientific  character.  The  social  point  of  view 
and  the  methods  of  social  science  began  to  find  applica- 
tion to  legal  problems.  An  early  warning  was  that  given 
by  Prof.  Thayer,  who  called  attention  to  the  activity  of 
the  courts  in  declaring  laws  unconstitutional.  "  The 
courts,"  said  he,  "  must  not  step  into  the  shoes  of  the  law 
maker."  ^^     Under  no  system  can  the  power  of  the  courts 

i^o  G.  G.  Groat,  "  Attitude  of  American  Courts  in  Labor  Cases," 
p.  389;  B.  F.  Moore,  "The  Supreme  Court  and  Unconstitutional 
Legislation";  Charles  G.  Haines,  "The  American  Doctrine  of  Judi- 
cial Supremacy " ;  Henry  R.  Seager,  "  The  Attitude  of  American 
Courts  Toward  Restrictive  Labor  Laws,"  Political  Science  Quati- 
ierly,  19,  589;  J.  B.  Thayer,  "Legal  Essays,"  1908;  Frank  Parsons, 
"Legal  Doctrine  and  Social  Progress,"  191 1 ;  Laidler,  H.  W., 
"Boycotts  and  the  Labor  Struggle,"  1914,  bibl.  p.  473. 

^^  Jas.  Bradley  Thayer,  "  Legal  Essays,"  containing,  "  The  Origin 
and  Scope  of  the  American  Doctrine  of  Constitutional  Law,"  1893. 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  173 

go  far  to  save  the  people  from  ruin.  Our  protection  lies 
elsewhere."  "  The  tendency,"  said  he,  *'  of  a  common 
and  easy  resort  to  this  great  function  now  lamentably  too 
common  is  to  dwarf  the  political  capacity  of  the  people 
and  to  deaden  its  sense  of  moral  responsibility."  °^  Our 
doctrines  of  constitutional  law,  he  held,  had  tended  to 
drive  out  questions  of  justice  and  right,  and  to  fill  the 
minds  of  the  law-makers  with  thoughts  of  mere  legality  — 
of  what  the  Constitution  allows  rather  than  of  what  is 
right.  He  believed  that  the  safe  and  permanent  road  of 
reform  was  to  impress  upon  our  people  a  far  stronger 
sense  than  they  have  of  the  great  range  of  possible  mis- 
chief that  our  system  must  work  upon  the  Legislature, 
and  of  the  clear  limits  of  judicial  power,  so  that  responsi- 
bility may  be  brought  sharply  home  where  it  belongs.**^ 

Formidable  opposition  to  the  general  theory  of  the 
court  appeared  within  the  ranks  of  the  judges  themselves. 
In  this  movement,  Judge  Holmes,  believing  that  "  one 
may  criticise  what  one  reveres,"  was  the  most  conspicu- 
ous figure.  In  his  "  Common  Law  "  published  in  1881, 
he  had  already  analyzed  with  great  keenness  the  nature 
of  legal  logic.  "  The  life  of  the  law,"  said  he,  *'  has  not 
been  logic ;  it  has  been  experience.  .  .  .  The  very  consid- 
erations which  judges  most  rarely  mention,  and  always 
with  an  apology,  are  the  secret  root  from  which  the  law 
draws  all  the  juices  of  life.  I  mean,  of  course,  the 
consideration  of  what  is  expedient   for  the  community 

82 Thayer's  "Marshall,"  pp.  103-110. 

"'  Compare  the  standard  doctrine  in  Cooley's  classical  work  on 
"Constitutional  Limitations"  (1874),  Chap.  7,  on  "Declaring 
Statutes  Unconstitutional." 


174  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

concerned."  ^*  The  principles  developed  in  the  course 
of  litigation  are,  he  maintained,  "  in  fact  and  at  bottom 
the  result  of  more  or  less  definitely  understood  views  of 
public  policy.  Most  generally,  to  be  sure,  under  our 
practice  and  traditions,  the  unconscious  result  of  in- 
stinctive preference  and  inarticulate  convictions,  but  none 
the  less  traceable  to  views  of  public  policy  in  the  last 
analysis."  ^^ 

Later,  he  had  said,  "I  think  that  the  judges  themselves 
have  failed  adequately  to  recognize  their  duty  of  weigh- 
ing considerations  of  social  advantage."  Alluding  to  the 
fear  of  socialism  here  and  in  England,  he  went  on  to  say : 
*'  I  think  that  something  similar  has  led  people  who  no 
longer  hope  to  control  the  legislatures  to  look  to  the  courts 
as  expounders  of  the  Constitutions,  and  that  in  some 
courts  new  principles  have  been  discovered  outside  the 
bodies  of  those  instruments,  which  may  be  generalized 
into  acceptance  of  the  economic  doctrines  which  prevailed 
about  fifty  years  ago,  and  a  wholesale  prohibition  of  what 
a  tribunal  of  lawyers  does  not  think  about  right.  I  can- 
not but  believe  that  if  the  training  of  lawyers  led  them 
habitually  to  consider  more  definitely  and  explicitly  the 
social  advantages  on  which  the  rule  they  lay  down  must 
be  justified,  they  sometimes  would  hesitate  where  now 
they  are  confident,  and  see  that  really  they  were  taking 
sides  upon  debatable  and  often  burning  questions." 

As  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 

"  Pg.  35- 

"^ "  The  Path  of  the  Law,"  in  Harvard  Law  Review,  lo,  457, 
1897;  Felix  Frankfurter,  "Constitutional  Opinions  of  Justice 
Holmes,"  Ibid.,  29,  683  (191 6). 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  175 

States  a  number  of  his  dissenting  opinions  cut  squarely 
across  the  logic  of  the  majority  and  challenged  openly 
the  validity  of  their  basic  principles.  In  the  bakeshop 
case  the  distinguished  Justice  said :  "  This  case  is  de- 
cided upon  an  economic  theory  which  a  large  part  of  the 
country  does  not  entertain,  .  .  .  The  14th  Amendment 
does  not  enact  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer's  "  Social  Statics." 
...  A  constitution  is  not  intended  to  embody  a  par- 
ticular economic  theory,  whether  of  paternalism  and  the 
organic  relation  of  the  citizen  to  the  state  or  of  hisses 
faire." 

Equally  notable  was  the  opinion  of  Judge  Winslow, 
of  Wisconsin,  in  which  he  upheld  the  Workman's  Com- 
pensation Act  of  that  State. ^'^  "  When  an  i8th  century 
constitution  forms  the  charter  of  liberty  of  a  20th  cen- 
tury government,  must  its  general  provisions  be  con- 
strued and  interpreted  by  the  i8th  century  mind,  in  the 
light  of  1 8th  century  conditions  and  ideals?  Clearly 
not.  This  were  to  command  the  race  to  halt  in  its  prog- 
ress, to  stretch  the  state  upon  a  veritable  bed  of  Procrustes. 
Where  there  is  no  express  command,  or  prohibition,  but 
only  general  language  or  policy  to  be  considered,  the 
conditions  prevailing  at  the  time  of  its  adoption  must 
have  their  due  weight;  but  the  changed  social,  economic 
and  governmental  conditions  and  ideals  of  the  time,  as 

5«Borgnis  v.  Falk  Company,  147  Wis.  327  (1911).  In  the 
Standard  Oil  case,  Justice  Harlan,  dissenting,  said:  "The  courts 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  wisdom  or  policy  of  an  act  of  Con- 
gress. Their  duty  is  to  ascertain  the  will  of  Congress  and,  if  the 
statute  embodying  the  expression  of  that  will  is  constitutional,  the 
courts  must  respect  it.  They  have  no  function  to  declare  a  public 
policy  nor  to  amend  legislative  enactments." 


176  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

well  as  the  problems  which  the  changes  have  produced, 
must  also  logically  enter  into  the  consideration  and  be- 
come influential  factors  in  the  settlement  of  problems  of 
construction  and  interpretation." 

A  direct  attack  not  always  careful  in  its  choice  of  facts 
and  narrower  in  its  range,  yet  reflecting  a  broad  demo- 
cratic sentiment,  was  made  by  the  radical,  labor  and 
socialistic  groups.  They  openly  charged  both  judicial 
corruption  and  class  prejudice,  resulting  in  the  betrayal 
of  the  interests  of  the  many  into  the  hands  of  the  few. 
They  did  not  hesitate  to  denounce  in  unsparing  terms  the 
personnel,  the  procedure,  the  spirit  and  the  practical  re- 
sults of  legalism  as  developed  during  the  last  quarter  of 
a  century.®''^ 

The  specific  abuses  enumerated  were  the  nullification 
of  laws  upon  technical  grounds,  the  discrimination  against 
the  poor  in  favor  of  the  rich,  the  failure  to  protect  work- 
ers in  their  constitutional  rights,  the  failure  to  protect 
workers  against  non-payment  of  wages  and  overcharges, 
the  unwarranted  extension  of  the  use  of  the  injunction 
in  labor  disputes,  the  exclusion  of  workers  from  juries, 
the  charges  of  fictitious  crimes  and  requirement  of  ex- 
cessive bail,  the  unwarranted  suspension  of  the  right  to 
the  writ  of  habeas  corpus. 

5^^  See  Gilbert  Roe,  "Our  Judicial  Oligarchy";  Gustavus  Myers, 
"  History  of  the  Supreme  Court."  The  most  authoritative  formu- 
lation of  this  position  was  found  in  the  Report  of  the  Industrial 
Relations  Commission  (1915),  Vol.  I,  pp.  38-61.  See  also  the 
testimony  and  special  reports  of  J.  Wallace  Bryan,  on  Trade 
Union  Law;  Edwin  E.  Witte,  Injunctions  in  Labor  Disputes; 
Redmond  S.  Brennan  and  Patrick  F.  Gill,  The  Inferior  Courts 
and  Police  of  Paterson,  N.  J. 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  177 

That  this  scathing  indictment  of  the  court  was  widely 
accepted  as  just  there  can  be  little  question.  A  compari- 
son of  classes  would  seem  to  show  the  chief  distrust  of 
courts  in  the  ranks  of  labor,  the  chief  confidence  among 
the  employers,  and  the  middle  class  alternating,  first  on 
one  side  or  the  other,  as  the  particular  issues  afifected  or 
influenced  them. 

In  a  significant  work  not  much  noticed,  Myers  under- 
took to  show  the  class  bias  of  the  courts  in  rendering 
their  decisions.  They  are  "  the  able  servitors  of  the  rul- 
ing economic  forces."  Specific  instances  of  corruption 
and  collusion  are  alleged,  with  cases  of  close  corporate 
connections.  General  emphasis  is  laid  on  "  class  con- 
sciousness," however,  rather  than  on  personal  corrup- 
tion.^* 

Particularly  it  was  urged  that  the  use  of  the  terms 
"  due  process  of  law  "  and  "  freedom  of  contract "  for 
the  purpose  of  negativing  legislative  acts  was  carried  far 
beyond  reasonable  bounds.  "  Into  the  general  clauses  of 
the  constitution  they  had  read,"  says  Freund,  "  a  purpose 
of  fixing  economic  policies  which,  however  firmly  rooted 
in  habits  of  thought  and  structure  of  society,  are  by  their 
very  nature  unfit  to  be  identified  with  the  relatively  im- 
mutable concepts  of  due  process."  ^^     The  attempt  of  the 

"8  "History  of  the  Supreme  Court,"  1912. 

^^  Cf.  Ely's  "  Economic  Theory  and  Labor  Legislation,"  also  the 
notable  study  on  "Property  and  Contract"  (1914),  particularly 
Pt.  n.  Chaps.  4  and  9,  and  Appendix  IV.  Cf.  Felix  Frankfurter, 
"  Hours  of  Labor  and  Realism  in  Constitutional  Law,"  H.  L.  R.  29, 
353  (1916).  Morris  R.  Cohen,  "Process  of  Judicial  Legislation," 
Am.  Law  Rev.  48,  p.  161.  Goodnow,  "  Principles  of  Constitutional 
Government,"  Ch.  21 ;  "  The  American  Conception  of  Liberty  and 
Government " ;  Groat,  Op.  cit.  389. 


178  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

courts  to  check  modern  social  legislation  by  constitutional 
principles,  he  says,  can  only  be  properly  estimated  if  we 
recognize  the  exercise  of  "  a  political  and  not  a  strictly 
judicial  function."  He  indicates,  however,  that  the 
courts  have  been  aided  by  the  shortcomings  of  legislators; 
that  a  check  was  demanded  by  the  conservative  sense  of 
the  community ;  and  that  on  the  whole  our  main  reliance 
for  the  protection  of  individual  rights  must  be  found  "  in 
the  continued  exercise  of  the  judicial  prerogative." 

A  specific  criticism  was  made  by  Freund  in  the  domain 
of  constitutional  law^.*'°  Constitutional  decisions,  he  be- 
lieved, must  not  be  regarded  scientifically  as  based  on  the 
canons  of  jurisprudence,  but  as  "  in  the  main  issues  of 
power  and  policy."  °^  The  decisions  of  the  courts  in 
these  cases  are  almost  wholly  lacking  in  constructive 
spirit  or  attainment.  They  are  almost  entirely  negative 
in  their  animus  and  effect.  From  the  point  of  view  of 
legal  science  it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  of  anything 
more  unsatisfactory.^^  No  rule  "  has  been  formulated  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  embarrass  an  honorable  retreat, 
and  if  an  inconvenient  precedent  is  encountered  there  is 
little  hesitation  in  overruling  it."  ^^  Decisions  favoring 
so-called  "  inherent  limitations "  are  among  the  most 
loosely  reasoned.  Indeed,  **  the  greatest  defects  of  the 
decisions  from  a  legal  standpoint  constitute  their  saving 
grace."  ^^ 

*o "  Standards   of  American   Legislation"    (1917)- 

61  P.  130. 

62  P.  211. 

63  P.  211. 

6*  See  his  keen  analysis  of  the  treatment  of  "  due  process  of 
law  "  by  the  Courts. 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  179 

The  evolutionary  theory  of  political  society  was  the 
clue  to  the  new  development  of  the  legal  attitude  taken 
by  Goodnow.^^  He  pointed  out  that  the  early  theory 
of  law  rested  upon  the  doctrine  of  the  social  contract 
which  in  turn  rested  upon  the  conception  that  society  was 
static  rather  than  dynamic.  With  the  general  acceptance 
of  the  evolutionary  theory,  it  becomes  evident  that  "  a 
static  society  is  all  but  impossible,"  and  that  legal  theory 
must  now  reckon  with  the  assumption  of  a  continuous 
process  of  change  in  social  and  economic  conditions  ac- 
companied by  a  continuous  adjustment  of  law  to  the  new 
situations  —  upon  a  pragmatic  rather  than  an  absolute 
basis.  Stare  Decisis,  the  rule  of  precedent,  taken  as  a 
fundamental,  he  believed  to  be  unworkable.  We  must 
abandon  the  theory  that  "  our  constitutions  postulate  a 
fixed  and  unchangeable  political  system  and  a  rigid  and 
inflexible  rule  of  private  right "  and  adopt  a  theory  that 
will  permit  of  "continuous  and  uninterrupted  develop- 
ment." 

In  comprehensive  fashion  Roscoe  Pound  challenged 
the  traditional  legal  philosophy.*'®     In  the  United  States 

•*  Frank  J.  Goodnow,  "  Social  Reform  and  the  Constitution " 
(igii)  ;   "Principles   of    Constitutional    Government"    (1916). 

^""The  Scope  and  Purpose  of  Sociological  Jurisprudence," 
Harvard  Law  Review,  24,  591 ;  25,  140,  449  (1911)  ;  See  also,  among 
other  writings:  "Mechanical  Jurisprudence,"  Columbia  Law  Re- 
view VIII,  605  (1908);  "Political  and  Economic  Interpretations  of 
Jurisprudence,"  Am.  Pol.  Sc.  Rev.,  VII,  94;  "Courts  and  Legisla- 
tion," Ibid,  VII,  36;  "Law  in  Books  and  Law  in  Action,"  Am.  Law 
Rev.  44,  12;  "  Puritanism  and  the  Common  Law,  Ibid,  45,  811;  "The 
End  of  Law,"  Harvard  Laiv  Review,  27,  195,  605 ;  "  A  Feudal 
Principle  in  Modern  Law,"  Int.  Journal  Ethics.  XXV;  "Limits  of 
Effective  Legal  Action,"  Ibid,  XXVII,  150.    "Juristic  Problems  of 


l8o  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  basis  of  deduction  is  the  classical  common  law  of 
the  17th,  1 8th  and  first  half  of  the  19th  century.  The  lead- 
ing conceptions  of  our  traditional  case  law  have  come  to 
be  regarded  as  fundamental  concepts  of  legal  science. 
This  has  led  to  a  rigid  and  unyielding  type  of  law,  in- 
adequate to  the  demands  of  modern  social  and  industrial 
life  —  to  what  he  terms  "mechanical  jurisprudence." 
Thus  it  happens  that  the  common  law  for  the  first  time 
is  not  on  the  popular  side,  and  also  that  the  law  is 
not  on  the  side  of  scientific  development  and  tendencies. 
The  courts  do  not  have  the  facts  of  the  present.  "  They 
have  but  one  case  before  them  to  be  decided  upon  the 
principles  of  the  past,  the  equities  of  the  one  situation, 
and  the  prejudices  which  the  individualism  of  com- 
mon law  institutional  writers,  the  dogmas  learned  in  a 
college  course  in  economics,  and  habitual  association 
with  the  business  and  professional  classes,  must  inevitably 
produce.^"^ 

Pound  assailed  the  juristic  system  with  vigor  and  acu- 
men, with  legal  logic,  social  and  economic  philosophy,  and 
the  citation  of  an  imposing  array  of  cases.  Specific  in- 
quiry was  made  into  the  bearing  of  mechanical  jurispru- 
dence upon  social  legislation.  Judicial  decisions  upon 
liberty  of  contract  were  scrutinized,  and  attributed  to  the 
individualistic  and  narrowly  juristic  doctrines  of  the  state 
and  of  law,  to  the  training  of  lawyers  and  judges  in  the 
1 8th  century  law,  economics  and  politics. 

Reviewing  the  various  schools  of  jurisprudence.  Pound 

National  Progress,"  Am.  Journal  Soc,  XXII,  721;  "The  Law  and 
the  Law  of  Change,"  U.  of  Pa.  Law  Rev.,  1917,  659,  748. 
67  H.  L.  R.  XXI,  403. 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  l8l 

finds  that  the  "  analytical  "  is  useful  for  purposes  of  re- 
form in  certain  situations,  but  neglects  the  social  processes 
of  which  the  law  is  a  part.  From  the  historical  jurispru- 
dence much  good  may  be  derived,  particularly  in  the 
study  of  the  immediate  past,  but  attention  too  long  fixed 
on  the  past  may  result  in  insufificient  attention  to  the 
living  present.  The  "  philosophical  "  jurisprudence  he 
regards  as  likely  to  develop  into  a  dogmatic  system  of 
principles  and  formulas,  which  may  lack  a  real  and  posi- 
tive content.  In  the  last  century  it  was  sterile,  although 
now  reviving  into  fruit  fulness  again.  Genuine  sociologi- 
cal jurisprudence  takes  as  its  point  of  departure  the  "  so- 
cial interest,"  and  endeavors  to  formulate  rules  of  law, 
on  the  basis  of  full  consideration  of  social  facts  and 
forces,  and  the  social  bearings  of  the  proposed  canon  of 
conduct. 

His  interpretation  of  the  "  sociological "  however,  re- 
jects the  "  positive  type,  which  seeks  mechanical  social 
laws,  as  uncontrollable  by  human  will  or  the  operations  of 
the  planets.  He  will  have  none  of  "  social  physics." 
Nor  does  he  concede  the  doctrine  of  the  "  economic  inter- 
pretation "  of  histo^J^  Law  is  not  an  inevitable  result, 
the  unconscious  interpretation  of  dormant  social  forces 
by  judge  or  legislator.  "  The  conscious  endeavor  to 
adhere  to  the  ideal  and  the  necessity  of  working  with  the 
materials  afforded  by  the  received  tradition  and  in  the 
manner  prescribed  by  the  traditional  mode  of  reasoning  " 
are  often  a  forceful  check  on  class  interests.  Tradition, 
professional  criticism,  the  logical  demands  of  an  accepted 
system,  are  all  factors  in  determining  the  rule  finally 
adopted  by  the  judge. 


l82  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Pound  holds  to  the  distinctions  between  "  legislation  " 
and  "  law,"  and  maintains  that  the  *'  will  "  element  in 
law  is  less  significant  than  the  "  reason  "  element,  while 
the  traditional  element  plays  a  large  part  both  in  the 
actual  law  and  in  legal  history.  A  complete  theory  of 
law  must  reckon  with  all  the  complicated  factors,  past 
and  present,  traditional  and  rational,  the  complex  social, 
economic  forces,  real  and  idealistic,  which  must  be  inter- 
preted in  a  rule  or  principle. 

Neglected  fields  in  jurisprudence  are  the  study  of  the 
social  effects  of  legal  institutions  and  doctrines,  the  socio- 
logical-legal preparation  for  legislation,  the  methods  of 
law  enforcement,  the  study  of  sociological-legal  history, 
the  reasonable  and  just  solutions  of  individual  causes, 
and  in  general  making  "  effort  more  effective  in  achieving 
the  purposes  of  law." 

He  proposed  a  pragmatic,  sociological  legal  science. 
"  The  sociological  movement  in  jurisprudence  is  a  move- 
ment for  pragmatism  as  a  philosophy  of  law;  for  the 
adjustment  of  principles  and  doctrines  to  the  human  con- 
ditions they  are  to  govern  rather  than  to  assumed  first 
principles;  for  putting  the  human  factor  in  the  central 
place  and  relegating  logic  to  its  true  position  as  an  in- 
strument." ^* 

Following  the  German  jurist,  Ihring,  Pound  holds  that 
law  must  recognize  the  priority  of  social  interests,  just 
as  individual  interests  have  been  critically  worked  out, 
as  in  the  case  of  property  and  contracts.  We  must  start 
from  the  premise  that  "  individual  interests  are  to  be  se- 
cured by  law  because  and  to  the  extent  that  they  are 

68  "  Mechanical  Jurisprudence,"  op.  cit. 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  l^Z 

"  social  interests."  Furthermore,  the  law  must  develop 
a  scientific  method  of  acquiring  pertinent  facts.  The 
court  must  in  a  manner  become  a  bureau  of  social  justice. 
In  short,  the  great  problem  of  law  is  that  of  socializa- 
tion.^® To  define  "  social  justice  "  is  to  define  "  social  in- 
terests," to  study  the  means  of  securing  these  social  inter- 
ests by  new  methods,  to  study  the  social  effects  of  legal 
institutions  and  legal  doctrines,  to  compel  law  making 
and  legal  interpretation  upon  the  basis  of  social  facts  to 
which  the  law  must  apply. 

In  brief,  the  characteristics  of  sociological  jurispru- 
dence are  that  it  looks  more  to  the  working  of  the  law  than 
to  its  abstract  content.  It  regards  law  as  a  social  insti- 
tution capable  of  improvement  by  human  effort.  It  lays 
stress  on  social  purposes  rather  than  on  legal  sanction  or 
penalties.  It  considers  legal  precepts  as  aids  to  justice 
rather  than  as  inflexible  formulas. 

There  appear  the  beginnings  of  a  new  development  in 
jurisprudence.  In  this  the  study  of  the  logic  of  the  law, 
of  legal  history,  of  social  and  economic  forces,  of  sociol- 
ogy, in  the  broad  sense  of  the  term  are  essential  factors.'^'* 

*®  With  Pound  compare  earlier  types  such  as :  W.  G.  Miller, 
"  Philosophy  of  Law,"  1884 ;  E.  L.  Campbell,  "  The  Science  of 
Law,"  1887 ;  W.  T.  Hughes,  "  Datum  Posts  of  Jurisprudence,"  1907 ; 
W.  S.  Pattee,  "The  Essential  Nature  of  Law,"  1909;  E.  B.  Kin- 
kead,  "  Jurisprudence  Law  and  Ethics,"  1905 ;  Hannis  Taylor,  "  Sci- 
ence of  Jurisprudence,"  1908. 

^"M.  M.  Bigelow,  "Centralization  and  the  Law,"  1906.  John 
Chapman  Gray,  "  The  Nature  and  Sources  of  the  Law,"  1909. 
Morris  R.  Cohen,  "  Legal  Theories  and  Social  Science,"  New  York 
Bar  Association  (1915),  p.  177.  Recent  Philosophical  Legal  Litera- 
ture in  French,  German  and  Italian  (1912-14),  International  Journal 
of  Ethics,   26,    538.    See   also   "  Business   Jurisprudence,"   in   Har. 


184  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

The  study  of  law  is  broadened  by  a  much  wider  acquaint- 
ance with  the  best  results  of  other  juristic  systems,  and  by 
more  complete  preparation  and  equipment  for  the  meas- 
urement of  social  forces.  A  notable  study  was  that  of 
Wigmore  on  the  "  Principles  of  Judicial  Proof."  "^^  The 
translations  and  publications  of  the  Association  of  Amer- 
ican Law  Schools  are  illustrative  of  a  broadening  tendency 
in  the  study  of  the  law,  and  the  prefaces  are  as  signifi- 
cant as  the  translations,  for  they  show  the  wide  degree 
of  interest  in  bench  and  bar.  The  Modern  Criminal 
Science  Series,  the  Modern  Legal  Philosophy  Series  and 
the  Continental  Legal  History  Series  are  indicative  of 
renewed  interest  in  the  broader  problems  of  jurispru- 
dence, 

A  broad  view  of  the  whole  legal  situation  was  given  by 
Keedy,  in  a  remarkable  study  of  "  The  Decline  of  Tra- 
ditionalism and  Individualism."  "^^  Acute  criticisms  were 
made  of  the  logic  of  the  law,  and  of  the  quality  of 
judicial  reasoning  by  many  incisive  minds.'^^  Wigmore 
indicated  that  judicial  decisions  are  characterized  by  lack 

Law  Rev.,  28,  135.  Edw.  H.  Adler,  Labor,  Capital  and  Business  at 
Common  Law,  Ibid.,  29,  241. 

Ti  1913,  See  bibliography,  pp.  1173-74:  The  Psychology  of  Testi- 
mony, III.  Law  Rev.,  3,  399  (1909)  :  G.  F.  Arnold,  Psychology  Ap- 
plied to  Legal  Evidence  (1906). 

^2  t/.  of  Pa.  Law  Rev.,  65,  764  (1917)  :  Compare  R.  L.  Fowler, 
"The  New  Philosophies  of  Law,"  Harvard  Law  Rev.,  27,  718,  de- 
claring the  new  legal  philosophies  are  "  philosophies  of  socialism." 

"  John.  H.  Wigmore,  The  Qualities  of  Current  Judicial  Decisions, 
///.  Law  Review,  9,  529  (1915)  ;  W.  N.  Hohfeld,  Fundamental  Legal 
Conceptions  as  Applied  in  Judicial  Reasoning,  Yale  Law  Journal,  16, 
23,  26,  710  (1917)  ;  T.  R.  Powell,  Logic  and  Rhetoric  of  Constitu- 
tional Law  in  Journal  of  Phil.  Psych.,  etc.  Collective  Bargaining 
before  the  Supreme  Court,  P.  S.  Q.,  33,  396.    W.  W.  Cook,  Privileges 


THE  COURTS  AND  JUSTICE  185 

of  acquaintance  with  legal  science,  unfamiliarity  with  con- 
trolling precedents,  over-emphasis  on  technique,  undue 
servitude  to  precedent,  and  to  some  extent  show  the  marks 
of  political,  class  and  economic  influence. 

One  of  the  most  striking  developments  in  legal  science 
was  in  the  field  of  legal  pedagogy  where  the  case  method 
was  discovered  and  applied  by  Christopher  Columbus 
Langdell  in  1871/^  The  basis  of  this  method  was  the 
belief  that  law  is  a  science ;  that  the  number  of  fundamen- 
tal legal  doctrines  is  less  than  is  generally  supposed ;  that 
the  mastery  of  these  and  the  ability  to  apply  them  with 
constant  facility  and  certainty  to  the  ever  tangled  skein 
of  human  affairs  constitutes  the  true  lawyer;  and  finally 
that  these  principles  may  best  be  learned  from  the  study 
of  cases  rather  than  from  formal  texts. 

Yet  these  developments  are  not  characteristic  of  the 
period  as  a  whole,  but  are  the  phenomena  of  its  close. 
Nor  were  they  characteristic  of  the  law,  but  must  be 
looked  upon  as  symptomatic.  On  the  whole,  legal  and 
judicial  statistics,  legal  history,  the  comparative  study  of 
jurisprudence,  juristic  psychology,  were  of  relatively 
slight  significance  in  the  progress  of  American  law.     It 

of  Labor  Unions  in  the  Struggle  for  Life,  27  Yale  Law  Journal, 

779- 

''*  A  Selection  of  Cases  on  the  Law  of  Contracts,  1871.  See  Josef 
Redlich's  report  on  "  The  Common  Law  and  the  Case  Method  in 
American  University  Law  Schools,"  1914,  for  Carnegie  Foundation 
for  the  Advancement  of  Teaching.  Of  particular  interest  "  The  Im- 
provement of  Legal  Scholarship  and  the  Promotion  of  Legal  Re- 
search"  (p.  48),  and  "The  True  Significance  of  Langdell's  Inven- 
tion." Compare  the  interesting  discussion  in  the  American  Bar 
Association,  1894,  in  which  Woodrow  Wilson,  Wigmore,  Baldwin, 
Keener  and  others  took  part. 


i86  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

was  only  at  the  very  close  of  this  half  century  that  atten- 
tion began  to  turn  toward  the  historical,  comparative, 
and  philosophical  types  of  study  that  had  been  familiar  on 
the  continent  for  a  generation  and  in  England  on  a  less 
comprehensive  scale  and  with  less  attention  to  the  phil- 
osophy of  law  for  about  the  same  length  of  time.  On 
the  whole,  the  period  was  marked  by  a  type  of  legalism,'^' 
divorced  from  the  study  of  economic,  political  and  social 
science  to  which  the  law  is  intimately  related.  It  was 
not  realized  that  the  jurist  is  something  of  a  political 
and  social  philosopher  and  that  the  depth  and  breadth  of 
his  philosophical  equipment  will  condition  the  juristic 
product,  that  law  and  political,  economic  and  social  sci- 
ence are  inseparable. 

"  Berolzheimer,  "  Die  Kulturstufen  der  Rechts  und  Wirtschafts- 
philosophie."  Cohen ;  Recent  Philosophical  Legal  Literature  in 
French,  German  and  Italian,  Int.  Journal  Ethics,  26,  528.  E.  Barker, 
"  Political  Thought  in  England  " :  Chap.  VL    The  Lawyers. 


CHAPTER  VI 

RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  TO  THE  DEMOCRACY 

The  tenure  of  judges  remained  practically  unchanged 
during  this  period.^  Attempts  were  made  to  change  from 
elective  to  appointive  systems,  or  vice  versa,  but  without 
material  alteration.  The  term  of  judges  was,  however, 
notably  extended.  New  York  in  1876  increased  the 
judicial  term  from  eight  to  fourteen  years  ;^  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1873  from  eight  to  twenty-one  years.  Eight 
states  increased  the  term  of  judges  from  an  average  of 
four  to  seven  years  to  an  average  of  eight  to  fifteen  years. 
The  impeachment  process  was  very  rarely  employed,  al- 
though used  at  the  close  of  the  period  of  the  famous  case 
of  Judge  Archbold. 

Aroused  by  a  quarter  of  a  century  of  decisions  in  many 
cases  unfavorable  to  social  legislation,  vigorous  attempts 
were  made  to  curb  the  power  of  the  court.  The  control 
of  the  judges  by  the  democracy  became  a  topic  of  wide- 
spread and  bitter  controversy  in  the  course  of  which  many 
significant  changes  were  proposed.  Most  of  these  in- 
volved closer  responsibility  of  the  judges  to  the  electorate. 

1  William  Carpenter,  "  Judicial  Tenure  in  the  U.  S." 
2Dorman  B.  Eaton's,  "Should  Judges  Be  Elected"   (1873),  and 
the  Transactions  of  the  Commonwealth  Club  of  California   (1914), 
Vol.  IX  No.  5  on  election  of  Judges  are  illustrations  of  the  sporadic 
discussion  running  through  this  period. 

187 


I»  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

The  specific  remedies  suggested  most  widely  included  the 
recall  of  judges,  the  recall  of  judicial  decisions,  the  re- 
quirement that  legislative  acts  should  not  be  declared  in- 
valid except  by  an  unusual  majority  of  the  court,  the 
complete  abolition  of  the  right  to  negative  laws,  popular 
election  of  judges,  modifications  in  the  organization  and 
procedure  of  the  courts.^ 

In  the  States  of  Michigan,  Idaho,  Colorado,  Arizona, 
Nevada,  Washington.  Oregon  and  California  the  recall 
of  judges  was  adopted,  and  in  Colorado  the  recall  of 
judicial  decisions.  In  Ohio  the  new  constitution  provided 
that  acts  of  the  legislature  could  not  be  held  unconstitu- 
tional except  by  a  vote  of  five  of  the  seven  judges.  In 
many  of  the  States  proposals  for  change  in  tenure  were 
made,  and  in  all  of  them  there  was  animated  discussion 
over  the  basis  of  judicial  office-holding.  If  judges  are 
the  custodians  of  the  constitutions,  then  who  shall  watch 
the  courts,  was  the  question  raised  in  the  minds  of  many. 
If  the  law-interpreting  body  is  wrong  and  the  legislature 
is  right,  then  what  is  the  remedy? 

It  was  freely  charged  that  the  courts  were  obstructing 
necessary  social  and  economic  legislation;  that  they  were 
using  the  economic  theories  of  generations  past  to  block 
the  adoption  of  new  policies  designed  to  meet  new  indus- 

»See  Gilbert  Roe,  "Our  Judicial  Oligarchy";  W.  L.  Ransom, 
"Majority  Rule";  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Proceedings  of  the  Ohio 
Constitutional  Convention,  1912,  p.  378;  Hiram  Johnson,  Ibid.,  p.  544; 
William  Jennings  Bryan,  Speeches,  p.  663 ;  Albert  M.  Kales,  The  Re- 
call of  Judicial  Decisions,  Illinois  State  Bar  Association,  1912,  p.  203 ; 
Judge  R.  M.  Wanamaker,  Illinois  State  Bar  Association,  1912,  p.  179; 
Judge  Walter  Clark,  Address,  .\pril  27,  i()o6;  and  January  27,  1914; 
W.  F.  Dodd,  The  Recall  and  the  Political  Responsibility  of  Judges, 
Mich.  Law  Review,  Vol.  10,  p.  7  (1911).    An.  Am.  Acad.,  Sept.,  1912. 


RESPONSIBIUTY  OF  JUDGES  189 

trial  cooditioos.  It  was  ooatcnded  that  the  power  of  the 
judiciary  was  bdng  en^lqyed  to  protect  property  against 
persons  and  defeat  r^ulative  measores  in  the  interest 
of  the  many  as  against  the  privileged  position  of  the  few. 
It  was  pointed  out  that  nnder  the  American  system  origi- 
nally the  jndidal  veto  had  been  only  ^aringly  en^loyed, 
either  to  protect  the  nation  agaiiKt  the  states  or  to  main- 
tain the  ind^endenoe  of  the  judiciary.  In  many  quarters 
it  was  openly  maintained,  as  it  was  widdy  bdicvcd,  that 
tile  courts  had  become  the  guardians  of  wealth  and  privi- 
l^e  against  the  legitimate  demands  of  ^bc  mass  of  the 
pet^le.  Even  where  the  judges  were  personally  honest, 
it  was  said  that  dieir  class  ^ejudices  had  led  to  decisions 
against  the  cnmmonwcaltfa,  m*  that  dietr  devotion  to  prec- 
edent made  their  reasoning  ^Dcesses  inadequate  to  scrfve 
modem  problems  The  coodnsion  was  drawn  diat  if  the 
judges  were  made  ammaWr  to  recall,  or  if  their  dwiwww 
in  particnlar  cases  mig^  be  icvcr&cd  by  popular  vote,  the 
interests  of  the  public  would  be  more  adequately  pro- 
tected. There  was  di£Fcrciioe  of  opimoo  as  to  mcthnd, 
but  agreement  in  principle. 

This  idea  was  most  authoritativdy  stated  by  Roose- 
velt in  his  Ohio  speedL  His  position,  in  brief,  was  that 
if  the  l^:islature  and  the  court  disagree  r^ardii^  the  in- 
terptetatioa  of  the  mnslitution  ii^on  a  question  of  policy 
under  the  pcriice  power  the  dectors  should  arbitrate  be- 
tween theuL  If  the  kgisbtnnc  of  a  state  limits  the  hours 
of  labor  for  women,  bdievir^  it  constitutional,  and  the 
court  bfdds  that  sndi  action  is  unconstitutional,  then  the 
people  shall  decide  whether  the  proposed  law  is  or  is  not 
within  the  scope  of  gmslitulinnal  power.    If  the  court 


I90  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

held  that  a  Workmen's  Compensation  Act  is  unconstitu- 
tional, while  the  legislature  believed  that  such  an  act  is 
valid,  then  the  question  of  the  validity  of  the  law  should 
be  determined  by  popular  vote.  If  some  such  measure  is 
not  adopted,  we  shall  be  the  victims  of  "  perfunctory 
legalism  "  and  there  will  continue  to  be  "  monstrous  per- 
version of  the  constitution  into  an  instrument  for  the  per- 
petuation of  social  and  industrial  wrong  and  for  the 
oppression  of  the  weak  and  helpless."  ^  The  power  to 
interpret  is  the  power  to  establish,  and  if  the  people  are 
not  to  be  allowed  finally  to  interpret  the  fundamental  law, 
ours  is  not  a  popular  government. 

Ordinarily  the  process  of  constitutional  amendment 
would  be  applied  at  this  point,  and  the  necessary  adjust- 
ment made.  This  has  frequently  been  done  in  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century,  as  in  the  case  of  the  California 
amendment  to  make  direct  primaries  constitutional;  of 
Idaho,  in  the  efifort  to  legalize  an  eight-hour  law;  and  of 
New  York,  in  the  case  of  the  Workman's  Compensation 
Act.  Yet  it  was  contended  that  this  process  was  slow 
and  difficult,  and  that  the  extraordinary  majorities  re- 
quired for  constitutional  amendments  gave  the  minority 
an  unwarranted  ability  to  block  the  genuine  judgment  of 
the  majority.  Ransom,  however,  maintained  that  the  vote 
on  a  specific  question,  such  as  the  constitutionality  of  an 
eight-hour  day  for  women,  would  be  more  conservative 
in  its  tendency  than  a  general  amendment  covering  a  wide 

*  Ohio  Constitutional  Convention,  1912,  386.  See  also  "  The  New 
Nationalism,"  231.  D.  F.  Wilcox,  "Government  by  All  the  People," 
Chap.  19.  Duncan  Clark,  "The  Progressive  Movement"  (1913). 
Chap.  13. 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  191 

variety  of  cases ;  and  that  it  was  therefore  superior  to  the 
constitutional  amendment. 

Governor  Johnson  defended  the  recall  against  its  assail- 
ants. "  The  recall,"  said  he,  "  will  make  no  weak  judge 
weaker  and  it  will  make  no  strong  judge  less  strong.  It 
menaces  just  one  kind  of  judge,  and  that  is  the  corrupt 
judge,  and  he  ought  to  be  menaced  by  something."  ^  That 
the  just  judge  would  be  intimidated  by  the  "  mob  "  he  did 
not  believe.  "  He  mounts  the  bench,"  said  the  Governor, 
"  and  in  a  week  sitting  there  he  is  metamorphosed  in  that 
brief  period  —  and  he  looks  snarlingly  behind  him  and  he 
sees  the  mob  and  the  rabble  —  the  same  mob  and  rabble 
that  put  him  on  the  bench,  the  same  mob  and  rabble  to 
which  he  appealed  when  he  wanted  to  gratify  his  ambi- 
tion; the  same  mob  and  rabble  that  elevated  him  at  his 
own  behest  and  to  which  in  the  first  flush  of  success  he 
was  so  duly  grateful.  But  suddenly  it  has  become  a  mob 
and  rabble." 

The  argument  for  the  recall  rested  in  part  upon  the 
failure  of  the  earlier  provision  for  removal  of  judges  by 
the  impeachment  process  or  on  joint  address  of  the  Leg- 
islature. That  procedure  had  practically  ceased  to  func- 
tion, and  the  long-term  judge  was  not  amenable  to  public 
control  by  any  governmental  process.  It  was  held  that 
if  his  opinions  failed  to  reflect  the  mature  opinion  of  the 
community  there  was  no  ready  means  of  redress,  in  view 
of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  constitutional  amendment, 
against  the  will  of  an  entrenched  minority  holding  some 
special  privilege. 

Wilcox  denied  that  the  judicial  recall  would  result  in 

*  Ohio  Constitutional  Convention,  1912,  p.  547. 


192  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  oppression  of  the  minority.  "  We  must  not  confuse," 
said  he,  "  majorities  of  men  and  majorities  of  dollars."  * 
Judges  can  have  no  just  claim  to  be  shielded  when  "  ob- 
durately applying  the  obsolete  but  unrepealed  injustice  of 
the  past."  The  courts  must  put  aside  their  "  policy  de- 
termining "  functions  or  submit  to  the  same  type  of  con- 
trol as  other  departments  of  government.  The  truth  is  the 
judiciary  is  now  generally  recognized  to  be  "  the  bulwark 
of  the  vested  interests,  of  property  rights,  so-called." 
Following  Hadley,  of  Yale,  he  declared  that  the  new  bal- 
ance of  power  is  between  the  forces  of  property  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  forces  of  democracy  on  the  other,  with  the 
judiciary  as  arbiter.  The  "  independence  "of  the  courts 
is  mainly  independence  from  the  people  —  and  the  case 
is  made  worse  by  judicial  incompetence.  Not  only  do  the 
courts  stand  as  "  the  bulwark  of  special  interests  and  spin 
red  tape  that  binds  the  poor  to  their  poverty,"  but  they 
are  a  part  of  the  political  patronage  system  of  the  time, 
dispensing  favors  in  receiverships  and  trusteeships.  Law- 
yers practicing  before  these  very  judges  fear  to  speak 
the  truth  widely  known  in  the  profession.  The  chief 
danger  in  the  recall,  he  predicted,  is  not  that  it  would  be 
misused  to  degrade  the  courts  and  make  the  judges  pup- 
pets, but  that  it  might  not  prove  effective  as  a  remedy 
because  the  people  are  essentially  conservative.  Yet  it  is 
more  important  that  they  exercise  this  power  themselves 
than  that  it  be  imposed  upon  them  by  the  **  arbitrary  re- 
straints "  of  an  "  inflexible  institution." 

There  was  during  the  latter  part  of  the  period  a  demand 

^  Op.  Cit.,  p.  222. 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  193 

for  the  abolition  of  the  judicial  power  to  declare  laws  un- 
constitutional. This  was  the  official  demand  of  the 
Socialist  Party,  and  met  with  some  support  in  various 
quarters.  The  court's  power  was  held  to  be  a  usurpation 
not  intended  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic;  and  by 
others  it  was  maintained  that  the  Constitution  makers 
were  fearful  of  democracy,  and  deliberately  devised  the 
mechanism  as  a  means  of  protecting  the  propertied  class. 
In  either  event,  the  opposition  to  the  judicial  veto  was 
based  upon  modern  social  and  economic  conditions,  and 
the  belief  that  the  exercise  of  such  authority  was  imdemo- 
cratic  in  spirit  and  tendency;  that  it  operated  solely  or 
chiefly  in  the  interest  of  property  and  privilege,  and  that 
it  served  no  useful  purpose  in  the  democracy.^  In  gen- 
eral this  was  the  theory  both  of  Socialism  and  of  organ- 
ized labor,  and  of  many  scattered  persons  in  various 
groups. 

The  doctrine  of  judicial  review  generally  prevailed, 
however,  and  was  the  generally  accepted  principle,  al- 
though conditioned  upon  its  fundamentally  democratic 
exercise.  More  accurately  speaking,  a  small  and  com- 
pact group  sustained  the  doctrine  of  judicial  review  for 
personal  or  class  reasons,  covering  property  interests,  such 
as  might  be  affected,  for  example,  by  an  Income  Tax  case ; 
another  group  included  jurists  because  of  traditional  in- 
fluence, and  from  the  belief  that  law  in  general  is  a  fin- 
ished court  product,  while  legislation  is  a  crude  contriv- 

'  Allan  L.  Benson,  "  Usurped  Power  of  the  Courts."  "  Our  Dis- 
honest Constitution."  William  Trickett,  "The  Great  Usurpation," 
Am.  Law  Review,  40,  356. 


194  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ance;  while  a  far  larger  group  upheld  the  power  on 
broader  grounds  of  the  general  expediency  of  a  judicial 
review  of  legislature  action. 

Theoretical  and  practical  opposition  to  the  new 
measures  was  decidedly  vigorous  and  determined.  Presi- 
dent Taft  vetoed  the  act  admitting  Arizona  to  the  Union 
in  191 1,  on  the  ground  that  the  constitution  of  the  state 
contained  a  provision  for  the  recall  of  judges.*  In  the 
campaign  of  191 2  this  was  one  of  the  leading  issues  under 
discussion.  The  American  Bar  Association  in  191 1 
adopted  a  resolution  condemning  the  recall  of  judges  and 
of  judicial  decisions,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  carry 
on  a  campaign  against  it.® 

President  Taft  and  Senator  Root  were  particularly  en- 
ergetic in  their  criticism  of  the  proposed  plans.  They 
held  that  the  recall  of  judges  would  place  weak  and  waver- 
ing men  on  the  bench,  and  drive  away  vigorous  and  inde- 
pendent characters.  The  judges  would  become  timid  and 
time-serving.  The  tendency  would  be  to  substitute  for 
"the  fearless  and  independent  judge  a  spineless,  flabby, 
cowardly  judge,  a  reed  shaken  by  every  wind."  "  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  say,"  said  Mr.  Taft,  speaking  of  the  judic- 
ial recall,  "  that  it  lays  the  ax  at  the  root  of  the  tree  of 

8  Geo.  W.  Wickersham,  "  The  Changing  Order,"  1914.  Ch.  12-13. 
Fred  J.  Stimson,  "  The  American  Constitution,"  1908.  J.  Hampden 
Dougherty,  "  Power  of  Federal  Judiciary  over  Legislation,"  191 2. 

8  See  Proceedings  of  American  Bar  Association  in  191 1,  and  the 
years  following.  Also  Proceedings  of  many  of  the  States,  notably 
New  York's  Report  of  Committee  upon  the  Duty  of  Courts  to  Re- 
fuse to  Execute  Statutes  in  Contradiction  of  the  Fundamental  Law 
(1915).  PP'  230-365;  (1916),  pp.  163-220,  a  striking  and  typical  docu- 
ment 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  195 

well-ordered  freedom,  and  subjects  the  guarantees  of  life, 
liberty  and  property  without  remedy  to  the  fitful  impulse 
of  a  temporary  majority  of  an  electorate." 

"  It  would,"  said  Senator  Root,  "  strike  at  the  very 
foundation  of  our  system  of  government.  It  is  impera- 
tive that  we  protect  individuals  against  the  democratic 
absolutism  of  the  majority."  If  changes  in  the  Consti- 
tution are  necessary,  then  amendments  ought  to  be  pro- 
posed and  passed  in  an  orderly  fashion.  Dr.  Butler  be-, 
lieved  that  the  judges  are  not  properly  the  servants  of  the 
people  but  "  of  the  law."  If  the  recall  is  adopted,  tyranny 
and  injustice  are  sure  to  follow.  The  recall,  in  short, 
"  is  the  most  monstrous  perversion  of  republican  institu- 
tions and  of  the  principles  of  true  democracy  that  has  yet 
been  proposed  anywhere  or  by  anybody."  ^^ 

In  his  presidential  address  before  the  American  Bar 
Association  in  191 1  Ferrar  referred  to  the  new  "  Homeric 
Thersites  "  who  "  sets  the  hydra-headed  Demos  on  the 
throne  of  justice."  ^^     The  recall  means  absolute  democ- 

10  Senator  Sutherland  said,  "  It  is  the  old  contest  between  idealism 
and  stubborn  matter-of-fact  reality.  It  is  the  story  of  the  philos- 
opher's stone  over  again  —  the  dream  of  transmuting  all  the  metals 
into  gold  —  the  hunt  for  the  master  key  that  will  open  all  locks, 
however  different  in  size  and  shape  —  the  problem  of  fitting  square 
pegs  into  the  round  hole,  the  puzzle  of  how  to  eat  one's  cake  and 
have  it  —  the  search  for  the  chimera  of  perpetual  motion  —  the  quest 
for  the  mythical  pot  of  gold  at  the  foot  of  the  rainbow  —  and  all 
the  other  impossible  undertakings  which  have  vexed  men's  souls  and 
turned  their  brains  and  filled  the  lunatic  asylums  since  mankind 
divided  into  those  who  see  facts  and  those  who  see  visions."  (62nd 
Cong.  1st  Sess.  2802.)     See  also  "  Martin  W.  Littleton,"  p.  1501. 

1^  P.  232.  See  Augustus  P.  Gardner,  The  Recall  of  Judges  and 
Judicial  Decisions.  W.  D.  Guthrie,  Criticism  of  the  Courts,  in 
"  Magna  Charta,"  p.  130.    R.  G.  Brown,  Recall  of  Judges,  Minn.  Bar 


196  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

racy,  says  he.  It  signifies  the  right  of  the  changing 
majority  of  the  people  to  rule  without  any  limitation  or 
restraint  whatever  upon  their  power.  For  three  hun- 
dred years,  said  a  committee  of  the  American  Bar  As- 
sociation, the  courts  have  protected  the  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple against  the  pressure  of  the  few.  "  Is  it  any  reproach 
upon  the  courts,"  they  asked,  "  that  they  have  extended 
the  same  protection  to  the  rich  and  powerful  when  as- 
sailed by  popular  prejudice?  "  ^^* 

The  objections  to  the  recall  of  judges  were  most  sub- 
stantially stated  in  President  Taft's  veto  of  the  resolu- 
tion admitting  Arizona  as  a  State  in  1911.^^  In  this 
famous  message  the  President  declared  that  the  recall 
would  permit  the  oppression  of  the  minority  by  the  major- 
ity. A  popular  government,  he  said,  is  not  a  government 
of  a  majority  by  a  majority  for  a  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple. It  is  a  government  of  the  whole  people  by  the 
majority  of  the  whole  people  under  such  rules  and  checks 
as  will  secure  a  wise,  just  and  beneficent  government  for 
all  the  people.  It  is  the  function  of  a  constitution  to 
check  the  hasty  action  of  the  majority  and  thus  secure 
respect  for  the  otherwise  unprotected  rights  of  the  minor- 
ity. The  power  and  duty  of  enforcing  these  constitu- 
tional provisions  falls  to  the  judiciary  who  are  not  pop- 
ular representatives.     In  order  to  fill  their  office  properly 

Assn.,  191 1.  Senator  H.  C.  Lodge,  The  Constitution  and  Its  Makers, 
before  the  State  Literary  and  Historical  Association  of  North 
Carolina,  November  28,  191 1.  F.  J.  Stimson,  Certain  Retrogressive 
Policies  of  the  Progressive  Party,  Am.  Pol.  Sc.  Rev.,  VII,  T49. 
Harlan  F.  Stone,  "  Law  and  Its  Administration,"  p.  48. 

ii»  1912,  p.  583. 

i*62nd  Cong,  ist  Sess.,  p.  3964. 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  197 

judges  must  be  independent,  deciding  every  question  that 
comes  before  them  according  to  law  and  justice,  and  with- 
out regard  to  popular  majorities.  The  recall,  however, 
would  subject  the  judges  to  "  momentary  gusts  of  popular 
passion."  Under  these  conditions  of  legal  terrorism  the 
character  of  the  judges  would  deteriorate  to  that  of 
"  trimmers  and  time-servers,"  and  independent  judicial 
action  would  be  a  thing  of  the  past. 

That  the  judge  is  out  of  touch  with  the  movement 
toward  wider  democracy  he  did  not  concede.  On  the 
contrary,  he  thought  that  "  the  cases  in  which  his  judg- 
ment might  be  affected  by  his  political,  economic  or  social 
views  are  infrequent."  Individual  instances  there  may 
be,  but  they  are  not  many,  and  do  not  call  for  radical 
action.  Usually,  he  thought,  it  will'  be  found  that  the 
courts  respond  "  to  sober  popular  opinion  as  it  changes 
to  meet  the  exigency  of  social,  political  and  economic 
changes." 

Woodrow  Wilson  also  opposed  the  recall  of  judges, 
contending  that  judges  are  not  law-makers  but  are  ad- 
ministrators. Their  duty  is  not  to  determine  what  law 
should  be,  but  to  determine  what  the  law  is.  Their  inde- 
pendence, their  sense  of  dignity,  and  freedom  is  of  the 
first  consequence  to  the  stability  of  the  state.  To  apply 
to  them  the  principle  of  the  recall  is  to  set  up  the  idea 
that  determinations  of  what  the  law  is  must  respond  to 
popular  passion  and  not  to  popular  judgment. 

Evidently  a  prime  cause  of  difficulty  lay  in  the  transfer 
of  judicial  lawmaking  from  the  field  of  every-day  judge- 
made  law  to  the  much  larger  domain  of  broad  questions 
of  public  policy.     The  inner  core  of  the  law  and  the  fiber 


198  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

of  legal  justice  are  always  made  by  the  slow  and  some- 
times almost  imperceptible  processes  of  application  and 
adjustment  of  the  old  law  to  new  conditions.  In  this 
field,  undoubtedly,  traditional  philosophy,  traditional 
point  of  view,  class  bias  and  conservatism  play  their  part 
along  with  legal  logic  and  common  sense.  But  in  the  slow 
processes  by  which  fundamental  standards  of  justice  are 
shaped,  the  unreasoned  tendencies  often  pass  but  little 
noticed,  and  in  the  long  run  the  evolutionary  product  may 
be  claimed  as  a  triumph  of  juristic  reason.  But  the  ap- 
plication of  this  process  of  making  law,  somewhat  esoteric 
and  oracular  in  its  nature,  to  the  burning  questions  of 
public  debate  in  our  land,  was  much  more  difficult,  and 
aroused  an  opposition  unmistakably  different  from  that 
of  the  malcontent.  That  the  legislative  bodies  did  not 
always  inspire  public  confidence  and  that  their  measures 
were  sometimes  hastily  and  imperfectly  drafted  helped 
the  courts  in  the  task  of  declaring  many  laws  invalid. 
But  even  this  argument  lost  its  weight  as  public  opinion 
was  more  and  more  clearly  formulated  and  its  demands 
more  and  more  urgently  pressed.  The  general  desire  for 
certain  fundamental  constitutional  laws  differing  from  the 
ordinary  law  also  came  to  the  aid  of  the  courts  as  the 
special  guardian  of  the  higher  law.  But  as  it  became  evi- 
dent that  constitutions  could  be  amended  only  with  very 
great  difficulty  —  difficulty  so  great,  indeed,  as  to  make 
an  easy  defence  for  privilege  attacked  by  law  —  public 
opinion  was  aroused  against  what  seemed  to  be  final  de- 
cisions on  fundamental  questions  of  public  policy.  It 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  democracy  would  quietly 
accept  the  government  of  the  minority  through  control  of 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  199 

courts  and  constitutional  interpretation.  There  were 
many  ways  forward :  through  more  direct  control  over 
judges  or  their  decisions;  more  flexible  modes  of  consti- 
tutional amendment ;  readier  response  to  public  opinion  by 
constitution-amending  authorities ;  more  liberal  interpreta- 
tion by  courts,  and  more  discreet  use  of  their  judicial 
negative. 

During  the  last  half  century,  American  political  thought 
has  turned  toward  the  practical  difficulties  arising  from 
the  organization  of  our  legal  system.  The  fi.rst  contro- 
versy was  over  codification  of  the  law,  and  began  shortly 
after  the  War.  This  may  be  said  to  date  from  the  orig- 
inal code  drafted  for  the  State  of  New  York  by  David 
Dudley  Field,  in  1865,  down  to  the  abandonment  of  the 
plan  in  1887.  By  the  middle  of  the  century  the  legisla- 
tures had  begun  to  take  a  hand  in  the  moulding  of  the  law 
which  had  gone  on  for  some  time  without  much  inter- 
ference on  their  part.  They  began  to  enact  the  common 
law  into  statute  here  and  there,  changing  it  somewhat 
from  time  to  time,  and  also  altering  the  procedure  as  they 
went.  Field  attempted  to  produce  a  complete  state  code, 
containing  the  entire  law  of  the  commonwealth  in  written 
and  enacted  form.  His  contention  was  that  such  law 
would  be  made  more  accessible,  simpler  and  more  intelli- 
gible both  to  the  lawyer  and  the  layman.  He  aimed  at  a 
systematization  of  the  law  after  the  general  fashion  of 
the  codification  championed  by  Bentham.^^  The  Field 
code  was  never  adopted  in  New  York,  but  was  taken  up  in 
part  by  the  State  of  California  subsequently.     Over  the 

13  See  report  of  Committee  of  Mass.  Legislature,  headed  by  Story 
(1836),  American  Jurist,  XVII,  17-93. 


200  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

desirability  of  codification  an  animated  controversy  arose 
in  which  the  demand  for  legislative  crystallization  of  the 
law  in  statutory  form  and  the  counter  demand  for  a  free 
hand  for  the  courts  in  the  moulding  of  the  law  were 
strongly  presented. 

The  great  leader  of  the  opposition  to  codification  was 
James  C.  Carter  ^^  of  the  New  York  bar.  Indeed,  the 
whole  controversy  dramatically  resolved  itself  into  a 
duel  between  two  legal  giants,  who  fought  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  like  feudal  barons  over  the  domain 
of  the  law  —  Field,  one  time  attorney  for  Jay  Cooke  and 
Tammany  Hall,  and  Carter,  a  leading  corporation  lawyer 
of  New  York.  Carter's  argument  against  placing  the  law 
in  statutory  form  turned  partly  upon  a  specific  and  de- 
structive criticism  of  Field's  effort,  but  more  broadly 
speaking  upon  the  undesirability  and  impossibility  of  bet- 
tering the  law  by  legislative  enactment  at  that  time.  He 
preferred  the  gradual  development  of  the  judicial  system 
at  the  hands  of  the  courts  to  the  systematic  treatment  at 
the  hands  of  the  legislature,  as  proposed  by  Field  and 
those  of  his  school.  A  clearer  issue  would  doubtless  have 
been  drawn  upon  the  question  of  a  national  code,  but  this 
was  not  possible  under  the  Constitution  as  it  stood,  and 
was  therefore  excluded  from  the  discussion. 

The  opposition  to  systematic  codification  prevailed  in 
general,  although  in  not  all  of  the  states  and  in  many 
more  partial  revisions  and  digests  were  made  from  time  to 
time  as  the  convenience  of  the  law-makers  or  the  demand 
of  public  sentiment  dictated.     What  Sir  Henry  Maine 

1*  Proposed  Codification  of  our  Common  Law  (1883).    The  Prov- 
ince of  Written  and  Unwritten  Law  (1890). 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  WDGES  201 

termed  "  tacit  codification," — that  is,  by  text  writers  and 
judges  —  went  on  at  a  rapid  rate.  However,  the  nom- 
inal victory  rested  with  those  who  championed  a  pro- 
gressive development  from  case  to  case  through  the  courts 
as  against  those  who  demanded  a  new  code  of  law  from 
the  representatives  in  the  form  of  the  legislatures  of  the 
states.  It  was  a  victory  for  the  conservative  as  against 
the  radical  theory  of  the  making  of  the  law  in  the  states; 
for  the  unconscious  as  against  the  conscious  process  of 
developing  the  general  legal  system  of  the  country;  for 
the  court  as  against  the  legislature  as  an  interpreter  of 
community  ideals  of  justice. 

As  the  end  of  the  century  approached,  the  attack  on 
judicial  ills  become  more  and  more  energetic.  Critical 
analyses  and  constructive  proposals  came  thick  and  fast. 
Judicial  organization  and  procedure  became  topics  of 
widespread  discussion,  not  only  among  the  members  of  the 
bar,  but  among  the  members  of  the  community  in  general. 
With  the  technical  details  of  this  great  process  we  are  not 
here  intimately  concerned,  but  the  broad  features  and  the 
underlying  principles  of  the  movement  are  of  great  sig- 
nificance in  any  appraisal  of  the  tendencies  of  American 
political  thought. 

The  critics  of  the  system  were  recruited  from  many 
quarters.  Business  was  far  from  satisfied  with  the  de- 
lays and  uncertainties  of  the  law's  procedure;  labor  was 
in  anything  but  a  peaceful  frame  of  mind  in  contempla- 
tion of  the  court's  activities;  scientific  students  of  the 
system  were  sharp  in  their  criticisms ;  members  of  the  bar 
were  not  quick  to  defend  the  system,  while  the  average 
citizen  was  mystified  by  the  eccentricities  of  what  was 


202  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

called  the  law.  Neither  Mr,  Gompers  nor  Mr.  Taft  could 
approve  the  law's  delays,  and  while  Senator  Root  and  Col. 
Roosevelt  differed  widely  regarding  the  recall  of  judicial 
decisions,  they  were  united  in  believing  that  reform  of 
judicial  procedure  was  an  imperative  necessity. 

As  early  as  1885,  David  Dudley  Field  and  John  F. 
Dillon,  being  a  sub-committee  of  the  American  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, "  to  consider  delay  and  uncertainty  in  judicial 
administration,"  presented  a  memorable  report  on  the 
situation  as  they  found  it.^'  "  A  single  word,"  the  com- 
mittee said,  "  expresses  the  present  condition  of  the  law  — 
chaos.  Every  lawsuit  is  an  adventure  more  or  less  into 
this  chaos."  But  notwithstanding  this  terrific  indictment 
of  the  law,  no  concerted  and  effective  movement  followed. 
Later,  notable  critiques  of  the  legal  system  were  made  by 
Mr.  Taft  in  1895,^^  by  the  National  Economic  League  in 
1911,^'^  by  the  Industrial  Relations  Commission  in  1915, 
and  by  many  others. ^^ 

Senator  Root,  in  a  famous  address  before  the  American 
Bar  Association  in  19 14,  declared:  "The  general  result, 
however,  is  that  in  all  litigations  in  these  jurisdictions  we 
have  a  vast  multitude  of  minute,  detailed,  technical  rules 
that  must  be  followed  —  traps  to  catch  the  unwary,  barbed 
wire  entanglements ;  barriers  which  the  subtle  and  adroit 

15  Transactions,  American  Bar  Assn.,    1885,  pp.   323-449. 

1"  Recent  Criticism  of  the  Federal  Judiciary,  American  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, 1895.  See  also,  "  Administration  of  Criminal  Law "  in 
"Present-day  Problems,"  p.  333   (iQOS)- 

1^  See  John  H.  Wigmore,  "  The  Problems  of  To-day,"  Congress  of 
Arts  and  Sciences,  Vol.  2,  p.  350.  For  a  general  discussion  of  these 
problems  see  J.  M.  Mathews,  "  Principles  of  American  State  Admin- 
istration," Ch.  15-17.  Arthur  N.  Holcomb,  "  State  Government  in 
the  United  States,"  Ch.  11. 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  203 

practitioner  can  interpose  to  hinder  the  pursuit  of  justice. 
.  .  .  While  the  law  is  enforced,  justice  waits.  ...  In 
such  a  game  the  poor  stand  little  chance  against  the  rich, 
or  the  honest  against  the  unscrupulous."  ^^ 

The  defects  in  the  practical  administration  of  justice 
were  broadly  sketched  by  the  National  Economic  League. 
The  general  difficulties  enumerated  were  those  arising 
from  the  development  of  industrial  and  urban  centers,  the 
shifting  of  ideas  as  to  the  nature  and  purpose  of  law,  and 
the  great  increase  of  litigation  under  modern  conditions. 
Local  causes  were  found  in  the  tenure,  mode  of  choice, 
and  personnel  of  the  bench,  in  the  education  and  organiza- 
tion of  the  bar,  and  in  bad  legislative  technique.  In^ 
efficiency  in  litigation  was  attributed  to  defective  organ- 
ization of  the  courts,  want  of  proper  organization  of  the 
administrative  side  of  tribunals,  and  to  procedural  weak- 
nesses, to  the  concurrent  jurisdiction  of  state  and  federal 
courts,  to  local  partisanship,  and  various  other  causes  of 
local  operation.  Further  specific  defects  enumerated 
were :  detailed  legislation  regarding  procedure ;  emphasis 
on  procedural  rights  as  against  substantive  rights ;  "  rec- 
ord worship  " ;  preservation  of  sharp  formal  issues ;  over- 
emphasis on  procedural  form;  piece-meal  disposition  of 
cases;  excessive  number  of  trials  and  re-trials;  too  great 
freedom  of  the  jury  from  the  guidance  of  the  court. 

There  were  also  included:  the  special  problems  of 
metropolitan  cities;  the  lack  of  adequate  provision  for 
petty  causes;  the  survival  of  legal  institutions  designed 
to  obstruct  the  process  of  debt  collection  in  pioneer 
communities.     The  causes  of  inefficiency  in  the  enforce- 

13  Addresses,  p.  493. 


204  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

merit  of  law  were  found  in  lack  of  coordination  between 
law  and  administration;  in  the  break-down  of  the  com- 
mon law  policy  of  individual  initiative;  in  the  increased 
burden  of  law  in  the  modern  community;  in  the  diver- 
gence of  class  interests;  in  the  failure  of  popular  interest 
in  justice;  while  additional  local  causes  were  seen  in  the 
diversity  of  interest  in  different  parts  of  the  state  and  in 
the  contact  of  criminal  law  and  politics. 

The  remedies  proposed  in  this  notable  review  of  the 
legal  field  were  the  proper  training  of  the  legal  profession; 
improved  methods  in  the  election  of  judges;  the  grant  to 
courts  of  greater  power  over  rules  of  procedure;  improve- 
ment of  legislative  law-making,  and  a  thorough  study  of 
the  new  problems  of  industrial  and  urban  societies. 

During  the  last  decade  and  indeed  since  the  report  of 
the  Bar  Association  Committee  in  1885,  energetic  efforts 
have  been  made  to  reorganize  the  courts  and  to  modernize 
procedure,  but  thus  far  without  revolutionary  results. 
The  general  type  of  judicial  organization  has  not  been 
rapidly  altered,  while  the  modes  of  procedure  have  been 
changed  here  and  there  in  several  states.  In  urban  com- 
munities, where  under  the  sharp  pressure  of  new  condi- 
tions the  effects  of  the  old  system  were  earliest  apparent, 
more  successful  attempts  have  been  made  in  introducing 
newer  methods. 

In  the  reform  of  criminal  procedure,  much  less  rapid 
progress  was  made.  Mr.  Taft  declared,  "  I  grieve  for 
my  country  to  say  that  the  administration  of  the  crim- 
inal law  in  all  the  states  of  the  Union  (there  may  be  one 
or  two  exceptions)  is  a  disgrace  to  our  civilization." 
Processes  originally  designed  to  protect  the  individual 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  205 

against  arbitrary  interference  with  his  Hberty  were 
deeply  imbedded  in  the  life  of  the  community.  And 
even  when  it  became  evident  that  these  historic  guar- 
antees were  being  habitually  and  effectively  employed 
by  professional  criminals  against  society,  a  change  in 
the  direction  of  modified  procedure  came  very  slowly. ^^ 
The  frequent  absurdities  and  inconvenience  of  crim- 
inal procedure  became  intolerable,  however,  and  a  strong 
demand  was  made  for  such  revision  as  would  make 
possible  the  adequate  protection  of  society.  Then  the 
grand  jury,  the  petit  jury,  the  coroner,  the  form  of  indict- 
ment, the  liberty  of  appeal,  the  nature  and  use  of  the 
record,  delays  in  trial,  were  all  subjected  to  keen  critical 
analysis  and  later  to  diligent  reconstruction.  While  in  a 
number  of  States  significant  changes  were  made,  on  the 
whole  progress  in  this  direction  was  extremely  slow. 
Conservatism  in  the  attitude  of  bench  and  bar  and  poli- 
tics in  the  practical  workings  of  the  system  combined  to 
render  rapid  changes  extremely  difficult.^^  Notable  pro- 
posals have  been  made  by  the  American  Judicature  Society 

20  See  report  of  Chicago  City  Council  Crime  Committee  (1915),  of 
which  the  writer  was  chairman. 

21  Law  enforcement  is  a  topic  that  would  well  repay  intensive 
inquiry  which  is  not  attempted  here.  From  remote  times  the  Eng- 
lish legal  system  has  had  a  way  of  quietly  ignoring  law  and  allowing 
it  to  lapse  into  disuse,  without  formal  repeal.  In  America  there  has 
been  added  to  this  the  decentralization  of  our  law-enforcing  machin- 
ery, which  has  often  been  equivalent  to  local  option  law  enforce- 
ment, the  common  unwillingness  to  create  strong  administrative 
agencies  for  any  purpose,  the  laxness  in  the  legislative  technique  of 
drafting,  the  passage  of  hortatory  legislation,  lynch  law  and  other 
features.  The  history  and  tendencies  of  this  phase  of  our  political 
evolution  is  an  interesting  study  which  is  not  undertaketi  here. 


2o6  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

for  the  reorganization  of  local  courts,  but  thus  far  these 
have  not  been  carried  out. 

In  the  admini3tration  of  punitive  justice  significant 
changes  have  been  made,  in  which  the  names  of  William 
Penn  and  Edward  Livingstone,  and  in  later  days  of 
Wines  and  Henderson  are  widely  known.  The  absence 
of  class  interest  and  of  professional  prejudice  and  the 
presence  of  a  strong  humanitarian  sentiment  prevailing 
from  an  early  period  in  American  history,  made  progress 
in  this  direction  less  difficult.  No  attempt  will  be  made 
here  to  cover  this  large  and  important  field. 

During  the  last  half  century,  the  great  problem  of  the 
court  was  the  adjustment  of  the  law  to  meet  the  new 
urban  and  industrial  conditions,  to  keep  pace  with  the 
evolution  of  new  social  and  governmental  policies  ade- 
quate to  the  new  forces  and  facts  of  American  life  by 
means  of  new  legal  technique.  In  this  admittedly  delicate 
and  difficult  task  there  was  a  general  feeling  that  the 
courts  were  not  cordially  or  successfully  cooperating,  but 
that,  on  the  contrary,  a  narrow  position  was  frequently 
taken,  and  that  the  text  of  the  law  and  the  letter  of  the 
Constitution,  were  so  construed  as  to  make  difficult  the 
adoption  of  a  vigorous  social  policy.  There  was  a  very 
general  belief  that  the  court  did  not  fully  represent  the  pre- 
vailing sentiment  of  the  time,  or  voice  the  inner  ideal 
feelings  of  the  nation;  but  that  through  its  legalism,  its 
literalism,  its  formalism  it  was  holding  the  balance  of 
power  in  favor  of  the  few  rather  than  of  the  many.  This 
was  relatively  easy  in  view  of  the  peculiar  circumstances 
of  the  case,  for  to  hold  —  as  the  court  frequently  did  — 
to  a  policy  of  non-interference,  while  one  of  the  parties 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  207 

was  in  possession,  was  equivalent  to  deciding  in  favor  of 
that  party.  When  the  court  held  that  legislative  measures 
of  social  policy,  such  as  the  Workman's  Compensation 
Act  ^^  or  the  limitation  of  the  hours  of  labor,  were  un- 
constitutional, they  ruled  in  favor  of  the  privilege  affected. 
Likewise  in  the  development  of  the  power  of  the  court 
through  the  use  of  the  injunction  in  labor  disputes,  a 
broad  principle  of  interpretation  was  followed,  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  propertied  class.  But  in  the  construction 
of  the  rights  of  labor  precisely  the  opposite  principle  of 
narrow,  strict  and  technical  construction  was  adopted. 
Under  a  democratic  system  of  government  the  organ  or 
agency  that  most  clearly  reflects  the  judgment  and  will 
of  the  community  is  most  powerful.  To  lose  touch  with 
this  community  life  is  like  cutting  off  the  current  of 
power.  This  is  what  happened  to  the  American  courts, 
to  the  extent  that  they  failed  to  rise  to  a  far-seeing  in- 
terpretation of  the  law  in  relation  to  social  and  economic 
conditions.^^ 

The  half  century's  development  of  political  thought 
regarding  the  judicial  branch  of  the  American  political 
system  may  be  summarized  as  follows.  The  organiza- 
tion and  procedure  of  the  judiciary  have  undergone  rela- 

22  The  "  fellow  servant "  doctrine,  says  Pollock  is  "  a  sad  example 
of  the  wrong  way  to  use  fiction."    Op.  cit.  p.  104. 

23  Edouard  Lambert,  in  "  Codes  and  Cases,"  says  :  "  Judicial  law 
is  naturally  conservative  and  trails  but  slowly  after  the  changes  in 
usage  and  the  mutations  in  our  economic  life.  By  the  mere  fact  that 
it  must  wherever  possible  hide  its  innovations  under  the  cover  of 
interpretations  it  arrives  generally  only  by  tortuous  and  indirect 
ways  at  a  goal  which  the  legislature  may  gain  directly,  and  conse- 
quently much  more  slowly." 


2o8  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

lively  little  change,  although  during  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century  constructive  criticism  has  developed  compre- 
hensive plans  for  systematic  reorganization.  Notable 
changes  have  been  made  in  the  sphere  of  punitive  justice, 
however,  where  humanitarian  and  sociological  influences 
have  effected  broad  advances  through  legislation  rather 
than  through  judicial  interpretation  and  adaptation. 

Looking  at  the  responsibility  of  the  courts  to  the  democ- 
racy, it  appears  that  during  the  whole  of  this  period  the 
courts  have  employed  their  power  in  opposition  to  many 
policies  of  social  legislation.  During  the  first  part  of  the 
period  this  process  was  not  clearly  understood,  but  in 
time  the  character  of  the  court's  action  became  clearly  evi- 
dent. When  this  occurred  there  arose  a  vigorous  protest 
which  took  the  shape  of  various  demands  for  closer 
responsibility  of  the  judges  to  the  people  either  by  way 
of  the  "  recall  of  judges,"  or  the  "  recall  of  judicial  de- 
cisions," and  of  other  demands  for  a  broader  spirit  in 
interpretation  of  the  law.  Few  changes  were  made,  how- 
ever, in  the  structure  of  the  courts,  although  many  modifi- 
cations were  made  toward  the  close  of  this  period  in  the 
spirit  and  temper  of  their  decisions. 

The  underlying  spirit  of  the  law  was  conservative. 
This  was  true  not  merely  in  the  sense  that  all  institutions 
are  conservative,  that  is  that  they  lag  behind  the  ideal 
conceptions  of  right  in  changing  social  and  economic  con- 
ditions. Conservatism  in  this  case  was  reen  forced  by 
the  doctrine  of  the  sanctity  of  precedent,  by  the  tendency 
to  regard  the  common  law  as  a  closed  book,  by  the 
unconscious  individualism  of  the  common  law,  and  the 
conscious   Manchesterian-Spencerian   theory   of   govern- 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  209 

mental  non-interference.  One  of  the  evidences  of  this 
was  the  overthrow  of  the  codification  movement,  although 
the  federal  factor  in  the  situation  was  not  inconsiderable. 
Then  came  the  tendency  displayed  in  the  construction  of 
industrial  questions  arising  between  the  many  and  the 
few,  toward  the  preservation  of  the  old  status,  which  was 
of  course  equivalent  to  the  decision  in  favor  of  the  few. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  period  came  **  sociological  juris- 
prudence "  challenging  the  earlier  "  mechanical  juris- 
prudence. In  reality  both  were  sociological  after  a 
fashion,  but  one  held  the  sociology  of  Spencer  pointing 
to  non-interference  on  the  part  of  the  government  as  a 
basic  principle,  and  the  other  was  the  social  type,  leading 
to  the  consideration  of  social  interests  as  paramount  in 
public  and  private  law.  The  distinction  between  these 
tendencies  was  not  wholly  one  of  method,  as  close  analysis 
will  show.  More  sharply  characteristic  was  the  differ- 
ence in  the  degree  of  democratic  spirit  found  running 
through  them.  Justice,  it  has  been  said,  is  an  affair  of 
the  heart  as  well  as  the  head ;  it  is  not  wholly  made  up 
of  legal  logic  and  analogy ;  economic  interests  and 
political  ideals  and  standards  are  not  and  cannot  be 
ignored;  and  any  system  of  jurisprudence  whether 
mechanical,  historical,  evolutionary,  sociological,  analyt- 
ical, philosophical,  eclectic  or  otherwise,  must  be  in- 
fluenced largely  in  last  analysis  by  sympathies,  interests 
and  ideas  represented.  The  significant  feature  of  the  new 
jurisprudence  was  the  modification  of  the  earlier  method 
through  the  closer  consideration  of  the  living  social,  eco- 
nomic and  political  facts,  and  the  inspiration  of  the  social 
spirit  and  the  social  point  of  view. 


210  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Down  to  the  end  of  this  period  the  earher  forms  con- 
tinued in  the  main,  but  vital  forces  were  clearly  moving 
toward  comprehensive  change  in  the  organization,  pro- 
cedure, technique  and  spirit  of  the  law.  Revolutions  in 
public  law  are  not  uncommon,  but  in  private  law  the  proc- 
esses of  evolutionary  change  are  much  more  frequently 
encountered.  It  is  these  slow  moving  developments  that 
were  occurring  in  the  American  judicial  system.  Un- 
questionably the  narrower  type  of  legalism  tended  to  lose 
its  hold  on  the  bench,  the  bar  and  the  mind  of  the  public 
and  a  broader  spirit  of  social  justice  to  take  its  place. 
Toward  this  goal  the  personnel  of  the  bench,  the  ethics 
and  education  of  the  bar,  the  movements  toward  reorgan- 
ization and  modification  of  procedure,  the  sweeping 
changes  in  punitive  justice,  the  swift  rise  of  sociological 
jurisprudence,  the  slowly  rising  movement  toward  sci- 
entific research  in  jurisprudence,  the  drift  toward  the 
broader  social  point  of  view  were  tending.  If  the  courts 
lag  behind  the  community's  ideals,  at  least  they  follow 
its  general  direction  and  are  closing  up  the  gap.  The 
new  ideals  of  social  justice,  of  right,  of  liberty  and  equal- 
ity, springing  from  the  new  social  conditions,  move  for- 
ward with  a  massive  power  offsetting  their  reluctant  pace. 
Democratic  and  social  gains  finding  their  way  through 
slow  and  painful  processes  into  the  inner  fibre  of  the 
juristic  principle  and  rule  will  be  dislodged  with  equal 
difficulty. 
^-^  But  the  making  of  public  law  upon  broad  questions  of 
public  policy  can  never  be  the  function  of  the  judicial 
system  in  an  alert  democracy  that  knows  its  mind 
\  and  its  way,  and  the  effort  to  do  so  embarrasses  the 


(S> 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  JUDGES  211 

judiciary  in  the  work  of  constructing  the  inner  core  of 
private  law.  Just  as  in  public  administration  there  are 
many  important  internal  problems  of  organization  and 
adjustment  which  normally  are  developed  and  decided 
within  the  administration,  itself  amenable  to  democratic 
supervision  and  control,  so  in  judicial  administration 
there  is  an  inner  field  where  juristic  logic  shapes  the  rules 
of  justice;  but  also  amenable  to  democratic  supervision 
and  control.  Yet  if  the  bureaucracy  actually  attempts  to 
govern,  or  the  judicial  administration  to  rule,  challenging 
or  evading  democratic  control,  or  seeming  to  do  so,  there 
is  conflict,  and  democratic  control  will  be  demonstrated 
even  at  the  temporary  cost  of  reduced  efficiency  in  judicial 
or  other  administration.  A  democracy  will  recognize  its 
limitations  in  passing  upon  expert  administration  in  law 
or  elsewhere,  but  it  will  demand  and  obtain  allegiance; 
and  it  will  act  more  rationally  when  this  is  conceded.  No 
doors  will  be  closed  to  it,  by  any  other  lock  than  its  own 
rational  restraint.  The  genuine  faculty  of  juristic  divin- 
ation and  creation  —  the  quality  of  the  great  and  just 
judge  —  is  nowhere  more  highly  venerated  than  in  a 
democracy  like  ours ;  but  nowhere  is  there  a  firmer  deter- 
mination that  the  public  judgment  shall  utter  the  last 
word  of  decision  on  broad  questions  of  social  policy. 


CHAPTER  VII 

DEMOCRACY  AND  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGE 

One  of  the  important  features  of  this  period  was  the 

development  of  the  theory  of  constitutionahsm  in  the 
broader  sense  of  the  term.  The  Federal  Constitution 
was  a  skilful  compromise  between  conflicting  interests  and 
principles  by  means  of  which  national  existence  was  made 
possible.  It  represented  an  accommodation  of  jangling 
local  and  general  interests  through  which  the  nation  be- 
came a  practical  reality.  The  state  and  federal  constitu- 
tions signalized  the  development  of  a  written  document  in 
which  certain  "  natural  rights  "of  men  were  declared  and 
guaranteed,  a  plan  of  government  outlined,  and  provision 
made  in  most  cases  for  continuous  change.  These  con- 
stitutions were  striking  illustrations, —  the  most  imposing 
thus  far  in  the  history  of  democracy, —  of  voluntary 
conscious  law-making,  deliberate  outlining  of  systems  of 
political  order  and  progress.  They  were  victorious  over 
"  traditionalism,"  were  forward  looking  and  experi- 
mental in  their  tendency.  The  orthodox  constitution  of* 
that  day  was  the  mass  of  customs,  traditions  and  laws 
which  the  feudal-absolutist  regime  had  accumulated,  or 
at  best  was  the  piece-meal  product  of  English  evolution. 
The  ruling  group  of  that  time  looked  with  horror  upon  a 
Constitutional  Convention  deliberately  framing  the  out- 

213 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGE      213 

lines  of  fundamental  law  for  the  community.  The  most 
skilled  representatives  of  reaction,  such  as  Burke,  De 
Maistre,  Von  Haller,  levelled  their  fire  at  the  "  paper 
constitution,"  the  "  artificial  "  government,  at  the  absurd- 
ity of  supposing  that  any  body  of  men  could  create  polit- 
ical constitutions  of  any  type,  democratic  or  otherwise. 
De  Maistre  compared  would-be  constitution  makers  to 
the  ambitious  designers  and  builders  of  the  Tower  of 
Babel,  and  predicted  a  like  outcome  for  the  unholy  experi- 
ment.* In  comparison  with  current  theory,  the  Fathers 
were  not  only  liberal,  but  revolutionary  in  their  methods 
and  aims.  In  the  movement  from  "  status  to  contract," 
from  unconscious  custom  to  deliberate  rational  choice  and 
selection  of  ways  and  means  of  governing  the  community, 
the  Revolutionary  state  constitutions  and  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution were  epoch-making,** 

Given  the  constitutions,  there  came  the  question  of 
their  progressive  adaptation  to  changing  conditions.  But 
the  logic  of  interpretation  was  not  the  logic  of  their  origin. 
Born  in  the  spirit  of  revolution,  they  were  applied  under 
the  influence  of  stare  decisis;  prophetic  in  outlook  they 
were  applied  in  terms  of  precedent. 

In  the  course  of  time,  through  the  activities  of  such 
nationalists  as  Marshall  and  Webster,  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution became  an  effective  instrument  against  the  par- 
ticularism of  the  several  states.  It  was  made  so  by 
the  deft  process  of  judicial  interpretation,  and  by  the 
close-drawn  legal  analogies  from  private  law.     The  na- 

1  See  Dunning,  "  History  of  Political  Theories,"  Vol.  III. 
i»  See  Merriam,  "  History  of  American  Political  Theories,"  Ch. 
2-3. 


214  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

tionalistic  arguments,  both  of  Marshall  on  the  bench  and 
of  Webster  in  the  Senate,  were  based  upon  the  letter  of 
the  law  and  close  analysis  of  the  text  of  the  document, 
upon  an  interpretation  of  specific  words  and  phrases. 
The  textual  analyses  of  the  Constitution  came  to  be 
identified  with  the  national  cause  and  with  the  interests 
of  progressive  national  development.  Legalism  in  the 
narrower  sense  and  literalism  came  to  be  the  standard 
methods  of  interpretation.  The  constitution  was  not  con- 
ceived by  either  party  to  the  contest  as  a  living,  growing 
document,  as  an  evidence  of  the  nation's  development, 
capable  of  growth  with  the  growth  of  the  nation,  but 
rather  as  a  contract,  a  fixed  and  determined  thing  in  the 
nature  of  a  finality.  Both  North  and  South  stood  con- 
stitutionally upon  the  status  quo.  Indeed,  the  Constitu- 
tion came  to  take  on  something  of  the  quality  of  the 
common  law,  originating  in  time  immemorial,  and  not 
subject  to  change  except  by  interpretation  and  application, 
in  which  case  theoretically  the  law  itsel  f  was  not  changed. 
In  the  hands  of  lawyers  accustomed  to  the  careful  use  of 
legal  logic  this  process  was  not  a  difficult  one.  In  short, 
although  the  Constitution  was  in  fact  the  greatest  example 
of  conscious  voluntary  law-making  that  the  world  had  yet 
seen,  it  tended  to  become  in  effect  an  unchangeable,  perm- 
anent and  established  Precedent,  to  be  differentiated  but 
not  disputed,  to  be  interpreted  but  not  to  be  altered,  to  be 
discussed  as  a  fixed  feature  of  political  organization  and 
not  as  a  flexible  measure  of  national  life  and  growth. 
Jefiferson  had  said  that  he  did  not  consider  the  Constitu- 
tion as  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  as  "  something  to  be  too 
sacred  to  be  touched,"  but  this  is  what  the  Constitution 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGE      215 

actually  became  in  the  course  of  legalistic  interpretation. 
For  two  generations  the  Constitution  remained  un- 
amended, and  finally  came  to  be  considered  an  end  in  itself 
instead  of  a  means,  a  thing  in  itself,  rather  than  an  in- 
strument designed  for  a  purpose,  a  terminus  rather  than 
a  starting  point. ^ 

During  the  Civil  War  this  attitude  was  fundamentally 
changed.  What  if  democracy  must  choose  between  its 
life  and  the  Constitution?  The  answer  was  that  the  na- 
tion's existence  was  paramount  to  any  interpretation  of 
the  written  document.  In  the  agonies  of  the  great 
struggle,  perplexing  constitutional  problems  were  not 
solved  by  the  refinements  of  legal  analysis,  but  by  the 
stern  necessities  of  national  life.  When,  for  example, 
the  Court  undertook  to  prevent  the  suspension  of  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus,  it  was  quietly  but  firmly  brushed  aside 
until  the  guns  had  ceased  firing.  Lincoln  declared  that, 
*'  Measures  otherwise  unconstitutional  might  become  law- 
ful by  becoming  indispensable  to  the  preservation  of  the 
Constitution  through  the  preservation  of  the  Nation."  ^ 
He  would  cut  off  a  limb  of  the  Constitution,  he  said,  in 
order  to  save  the  life  of  the  nation.  He  would  not  permit 
the  Constitution  to  interfere  with  the  purpose  for  which 
the  Constitution  was  framed,  namely,  the  establishment 
and  maintenance  of  a  democratic  nation. 

Evidence  of  the  same  spirit  is  given  by  the  statement  of 
Fisher  that  "  if  the  Union  and  the  Government  cannot  be 
saved  out  of  this  terrible  shock  of  war  constitutionally,  a 

2  H.  V.  Ames,  "  Proposed  Amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
U,  S." 
'Works,  II,  508. 


2l6  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Union  and  a  Government  must  be  saved  unconstitution- 
ally." ^  Men  began  to  point  out  that  there  is  an  unwrit- 
ten constitution  as  well  as  a  written  constitution.  Jame- 
son, for  example,  distinguished  constitutions  as  "  organic 
growths  "  from  constitutions  which  are  "  instruments  of 
evidence."  "  Organic  "  constitutions  are  the  product  of 
various  social  and  political  forces.  The  others  are  at- 
tempts to  "  express  in  technical  language  some  particular 
constitution."  ^  Some  distinguished  between  the  consti- 
tution of  a  nation  and  the  constitution  of  a  government, 
one  resting  on  "  the  genius,  the  character,  the  habits,  cus- 
toms and  wants  of  the  people,"  and  the  other  upon  a 
particular  legal  formulation.® 

Of  even  greater  significance  was  the  later  theory  of 
Hurd,^  who  maintained  that  sovereignty  does  not  at  all 
depend  on  the  constitution  and  the  law,  but  itself  makes 
constitutions  and  laws.  It  is  idle  to  seek  in  the  Constitu- 
tion an  answer  to  the  question  whether  the  States  or  the 
United  States  is  sovereign,  because  in  the  nature  of  the 
case  the  Constitution  is  not  the  creator,  but  the  creation 
of  power.  Sovereignty  is  a  matter  of  fact  rather  than 
of  law,  and  it  is  to  the  facts  back  of  the  Constitution,  not 
to  its  text,  that  we  must  look  for  an  authentic  interpreta- 
tion of  the  question  of  supreme  power.  If  the  United 
States  was  not  legally  and  technically  a  nation,  then,  they 
reasoned,  it  ought  to  be  one.     It  was  destined  to  be  a 

*  Sydney  Fisher,  "The  Trial  of  the  Constitution,"  p.  199  (1862). 

'J.  A.  Jameson,  Constitutional  Conventions,  Sec.  63   (1866). 

«0.  E.  Brownson,  "The  American  Republic,"  Chap.  VII  (1866). 
Compare  Elisha  Mulford,  "The  Nation,"  Chap.  IX  (1870). 

7  John  C.  Hurd,  "The  Theory  of  our  National  Existence"  (1881)  ; 
"The  Union  State"  (1890). 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGE      217 

nation,  and  political  facts  must  yield  to  the  social  and 
political  forces  which  have  decreed  the  existence  of  the 
nation.  And  in  this  spirit  the  constitutional  document 
must  be  interpreted.  At  the  same  time  radical  changes 
were  made  in  the  text  of  the  Constitution  itself.  The 
13th,  14th  and  15th  Amendments,  passed  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, materially  altered  the  scope  of  the  United  States 
Constitution.  This  was  particularly  true  of  the  14th 
Amendment,  with  its  significant  provisions  regarding  the 
protection  of  civil  liberty. 

After  the  War,  however,  the  old  spirit  quietly  returned, 
and  took  up  the  practical  application  of  the  wide  powers 
given  in  the  14th  Amendment.  The  authority  there 
granted  to  protect  civil  liberty  was  an  expression  of  the 
war  spirit  and  was  given  primarily  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  the  colored  man  in  his  new-found  freedom. 
Practically,  however,  the  race  question  was  soon  thrown 
into  the  background,  while  the  industrial  struggle  over 
corporations  and  property  rights  became  the  subject  of 
intensive  and  extensive  interpretation.  The  14th  Amend- 
ment was  born  in  the  struggle  over  slavery,  but  it  lived 
as  a  principle  of  action  during  the  great  struggles  of 
modern  industrialism.  In  this  process  of  interpreting 
"  equal  protection  "  of  the  laws,  "  due  process  "  of  law, 
"  liberty,"  and  "  property,"  the  old  textual  methods  and 
the  technical  spirit  were  revived  and  reintroduced.  Liv- 
ing touch  with  the  shifting  and  changing  of  social  and 
economic  conditions  was  often  lost.  Then  once  more  the 
doctrine  of  literalism  prevailed,  as  before  the  Civil  War. 
No  further  amendments  to  the  Constitution  were  made 
for  forty  years,  until  it  seemed  that  the  Constitution  had 


2l8  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

become  practically  unamendable.  From  1870  until  191 2, 
a  period  of  unparalleled  growth  and  change,  the  formal 
Constitution  remained  unchanged.  At  the  same  time  the 
earlier  doctrine  of  the  Constitution  as  a  finality,  a  prece- 
dent, an  unchangeable  instrument,  temporarily  ousted  by 
the  War,  and  the  somewhat  violent  adoption  of  the  13th, 
14th  and  15th  Amendments,  was  once  more  enthroned  as 
a  working  principle. 

The  expression  of  a  constitutional  theory  widely  enter- 
tained was  voiced  by  the  distinguished  jurist,  E.  J.  Phelps, 
in  his  Presidential  address  before  the  American  Bar 
Association  in  1879.  On  that  occasion,  he  urged  that 
constitutional  questions  be  taken  from  the  realm  of  gen- 
eral discussion  and  placed  under  the  exclusive  jurisdiction 
of  the  bar.  Lawyers,  he  believed,  should  unite  in  "  set- 
ting their  feet  upon  and  their  hands  against  all  efforts  to 
transgress  the  true  limits  of  the  Constitution  or  to  make 
it  at  all  the  subject  of  political  discussion."  The  Consti- 
tution, he  said,  should  not  be  "  hawked  about  the  country, 
debated  in  the  newspapers,  discussed  from  the  stump, 
elucidated  by  pot-house  politicians  and  dunghill  editors, 
scholars  in  the  science  of  government  who  have  never 
found  leisure  for  the  grace  of  English  grammar  or  the 
embellishment  of  correct  spelling."  ^ 

It  was  not  long,  however,  before  proposals  for  greater 
flexibility  in  the  national  Constitution  were  made  from 
various  quarters.  Burgess  pointed  out  the  danger  to  na- 
tional development  from  the  possibility  of  veto  by  a  small 
group  of  states,  containing  three  million  population 
(1880),  and  urged  that  the  way  to  amendment  be  made 
•  Proceedings,  p.  190. 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGE      2ig 

wider  and  easier.®  If  a  minority  can  block  the  mature 
and  deliberate  will  of  the  majority,  then  there  is  danger 
of  violence  and  revolution.  War  should  not  be  the  only 
way  of  changing  the  Constitution.  In  a  notable  proposal 
he  urged  that  amendments  should  be  made  by  Congress  in 
joint  session  by  a  majority  vote  of  two  successive  Con- 
gresses, and  ratification  by  the  legislatures  of  the  com- 
monwealths acting  in  joint  assembly  by  majority  vote. 
The  vote  of  each  legislature  should  have  the  same  weight 
in  the  count  as  that  of  the  state  in  the  Presidential  elec- 
tion and  an  absolute  majority  of  all  the  votes  should  be 
necessary  for  final  ratification,  "  There  is,"  said  he,  "  a 
growing  feeling  among  our  jurists  and  publicists  that  in 
the  interpretation  of  the  Constitution  we  are  not  to  be 
strictly  held  by  the  intentions  of  its  framers,  especially 
since  the  whole  fabric  of  our  state  has  been  so  changed  by 
the  results  of  rebellion  and  civil  war.  They  are  begin- 
ning to  feel  —  and  rightly,  too  —  that  present  conditions, 
relations  and  requirements  should  be  the  chief  considera- 
tion, and  that  when  the  language  of  the  Constitution  will 
bear  it,  these  should  determine  the  interpretation."  ^° 

In  the  individual  states,  the  principle  of  restricted  in- 
terpretation also  developed,  but  the  state  constitutions 
were  more  easily  amendable.  The  boundary  lines  be- 
tween constitutional  and  statutory  law  were  largely 
broken  down.  Constitutions  of  such  length  and  detail 
had  been  adopted,  containing  so  many  provisions  ordi- 
narily statutory  in  character,  that  it  became  difficult  to 
distinguish   the    organic   law    from   the    statutory   law. 

»  "  Political  Science,"  Vol.  I,  142  ff. 
10  Op.  cit.,  p.  152. 


220  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

"  Constitutionalism "  in  the  state,  therefore,  never 
reached  a  degree  of  development  comparable  to  that  of 
constitutionalism  in  the  nation.  There  had  never  been 
in  the  state  the  same  tradition  of  inflexibility  which  from 
time  to  time  grew  up  around  the  national  document. 
Frequent  amendments  were  made  in  the  various  common- 
wealths, either  by  constitutional  convention  or  by  revision 
from  time  to  time.*^  The  referendum  principle  in  the 
adoption  of  state  constitutions  had  been  put  in  force  prior 
to  the  Civil  War,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  this  period  a 
number  of  commonwealths  adopted  the  initiative  in  the 
amendment  of  such  constitutions.  Under  this  system  it 
was  possible  to  amend  the  organic  law  of  a  state  without 
recourse  to  the  Legislature,  thus  increasing  the  flexibility 
of  the  fundamental  law  of  the  state. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  doctrine  of  the  flexibiltiy  of  the 
Constitution  developed  as  a  part  of  the  general  demo- 
cratic movement.  "  There  is,"  said  Judge  Amidon,  "  a 
very  general  understanding  that  formal  amendment  is  im- 
possible." ^^  The  declaration  of  the  unconstitutionality 
of  the  income  tax  law  in  1894  led  after  a  long  struggle  to 
the  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  making  the  income 
tax  constitutional.  The  demand  for  direct  election  of 
Senators    precipitated    another    long    struggle.     Other 

11  See  Jameson,  "  The  Constitutional  Convention " ;  Holcombe, 
"  State  Government  in  the  United  States,"  p.  92 ;  W.  F.  Dodd,  "  Re- 
vision and  Amendment  of  State  Constitutions";  Mathews,  "Princi- 
ples of  State  Administration  " ;  Roger  S.  Hoar,  "  Constitutional  Con- 
ventions." 

12  American  Bar  Assn.,  1907,  p.  468.  "A  changeless  constitution 
becomes  the  protector  not  only  of  vested  rights  but  of  vested 
wrongs." 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGE      221 

amendments  pressed  hard  for  consideration  and  for  pas- 
sage until  the  desirability  and  the  necessity  for  constitu- 
tional change  came  to  be  widely  evident. 

Lowell  discussed  the  "  fetichism  "of  Constitution  wor- 
ship and  indicated  that  it  must  in  time  give  way.^' 
Woodrow  Wilson  asserted  that  "  the  Federal  Government 
was  not  by  intention  a  democratic  government.  In  plan 
and  structure  it  had  been  meant  to  check  the  sweep  and 
power  of  popular  majorities."  ^^  Smith,  in  a  notable  es- 
say, likewise  contended  that  the  Constitution  was  adopted 
in  a  spirit  of  reaction  and  that  its  makers  deliberately 
made  it  difficult  to  amend,  because  of  their  fear  of  democ- 
racy. Constitutional  provisions  designed  to  obstruct  gov- 
ernment are  an  anomaly  in  popular  government,  and  they 
must  eventually  yield  to  the  demand  for  more  democratic 
provisions.^^  Beard  ^®  discussed  in  detail  the  economic 
basis  of  the  Constitution,  and  drew  from  it  a  confirma- 
tion of  Wilson's  doctrine  of  the  '90's. 

The  Progressive  Party  in  its  platform  of  19 12  placed 
flexibility  of  the  Constitution  in  the  forefront  as  one  of 
the  necessary  means  of  social  and  political  betterment. 
Mr.  La  Follette,  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  many  others  of  the 
nation's  political  leaders  defended  the  necessity  of  easier 
methods  of  effecting  fundamental  change  in  the  founda- 
tion law.     They  contended  that  the  Constitution  was  an 

1' A.  L.  Lowell,  "Essays  on  Government,"  p.  126  (1889). 

1*"  Division  and  Reunion,"  p.  12   (1893),  quoted  by  Smith. 

15 J.  Allen  Smith,  "The  Spirit  of  American  Government"  (1907), 
Chap.  3-4. 

18  Charles  A.  Beard,  "  Economic  Interpretation  of  the  Consti- 
tution." Compare  H.  C.  Lodge,  "  The  Constitution  and  Its  Makers  " 
(1911). 


2,22  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

instrument  of  national  growth  and  progress  and  must  be 
modified  not  only  by  the  decisions  of  the  courts,  but  from 
time  to  time  as  the  needs  of  the  people  demanded.  They 
insisted  that  the  national  life  could  not  be  held  within  the 
limits  of  an  unchanging  written  document,  but  must  be 
free  to  develop  and  expand  with  the  changing  needs  of 
the  new  time.  Senator  La  Follette,  in  particular,  pro- 
posed a  specific  plan  of  constitutional  amendment.  He 
would  permit  submission  of  an  amendment  by  vote  of 
both  houses  of  Congress,  or  the  initiative  of  one-fourth 
of  the  States;  and  ratification  by  a  majority  vote,  in  a 
majority  of  the  states.  This  gateway  amending  process 
he  regarded  as  fundamental  in  the  attempt  to  meet  new 
social  and  industrial  conditions  by  constitutional  change. 

Goodnow  called  attention  to  the  static  character  of  the 
constitutional  system,  and  the  danger  arising  from  over- 
rigid  law.  A  modern  program  of  social  reform  is  blocked 
by  constitutional  restrictions  and  "  Few  can  refrain  from 
asking  the  question  why  Americans  alone  of  all  peoples 
should  be  denied  the  possibility  of  political  and  social 
change."  ^"^  Either  changes  in  the  mode  of  formal 
amendment  or  in  the  spirit  of  interpretation  are  essential, 
if  the  nation's  way  toward  free  development  is  to  be  kept 
open. 

Croly  **  asserted  that  the  Constitution  had  become  over- 
rigid  and  in  this  respect  unadapted  to  the  conditions  of 

"  "  Social  Reform  and  the  Constitution,"  p.  zZi-  C.  G.  Tiedemann, 
"The  Unwritten  Constitution  of  the  United  States"  (1890).  Com- 
pare Andrew  C.  McLaughlin,  "A  Written  Constitution  in  Some  of 
Its  Historical  Aspects,"  Mich.  Law  Rev.,  V  (1907)  ;  H.  P.  Judson, 
"The  Essential  Elements  of  a  Written  Constitution,"  191 1. 

^8  "  Progressive  Democracy." 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGE      223 

modern  life.  The  "  monarchy  of  the  Constitution,"  or 
the  "  monarchy  of  the  Word,"  are  terms  employed  to  indi- 
cate the  supremacy  of  legalism  in  the  domain  of  constitu- 
tional amendment  and  interpretation.  Admitting  the 
educational  advantages  of  the  system,  the  combination  of 
"  democracy  and  moralistic  legalism  "  was  on  the  whole 
narrowing  in  its  tendencies.  Divergences  in  social  ideals 
and  concepts  of  justice,  constantly  appeared  and  ren- 
dered the  task  of  operation  a  painful  and  difficult  one. 
The  existing  method  calls  for  "  amendment  by  unanimous 
consent "  or  constitutional  interpretation  "  under  the  im- 
mediate direction  of  a  group  of  benevolent  guardians." 
A  nation  blessed  with  common  sense  will  adopt  more 
democratic  measures  for  keeping  its  "  Law  "  adapted  to 
its  needs. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  period  when  it  seemed  that 
the  Constitution  could  not  be  amended,  the  demand  for 
the  preservation  of  the  document  in  its  textual  integrity 
became  more  insistent,  for  it  then  seemed  that  the  Consti- 
tution would  afford  a  protection  for  property  rights  in  a 
degree  and  in  a  form  otherwise  unattainable.  Thus  the 
rigid  Constitution  was  defended  by  Butler,  who  believed 
that  certain  fundamental  guarantees  were  embodied  in  the 
written  law  and  that  these  should  under  no  circumstances 
be  changed.  We  must  build,  he  thought,  upon  founda- 
tions that  are  not  subject  to  continual  revision  and  recon- 
struction.^® In  the  same  spirit  Mr.  Root  and  others  de- 
clared against  any  effort  toward  hasty  change. 

^8 "  Why  Should  We  Change  our  Form  of  Government?"  p.  29. 
William  D.  Guthrie,  "  Magna  Charta,"  pp.  42-86,  on  Constitutional 
Morality.     William  Howard  Taft,  op.  cit. 


224  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Great  stress  was  placed  upon  the  importance  of  a  funda- 
mental, permanent  law,  as  a  barrier  against  passionate 
and  violent  action  on  the  part  of  the  majority,  and  espec- 
ially as  a  protection  for  personal  rights  and  private  prop- 
erty. Self-restraint,  said  Senator  Root,  is  a  necessary 
quality  in  all  human  conduct,  but  even  more  important 
where  men  are  acting  in  mass  than  as  individuals,  because 
masses  are  more  difficult  to  control  than  individuals. 
"  The  makers  of  our  Constitution,"  said  he,  "  wise  and 
earnest  students  of  history  and  of  life,  discerned  the  great 
truth  that  self-restraint  is  the  supreme  necessity  and  the 
supreme  virtue  of  a  democracy."  Long  and  slow  proc- 
esses of  change  are  desirable  in  order  that  new  proposals 
may  be  fully  analyzed  and  weighed  and  finally  adopted  or 
rejected  only  after  mature  deliberation.  The  doctrine  of 
the  force  of  precedent,  the  literal  text  of  the  Constitution, 
the  emphasis  of  legal  logic  as  against  the  current  social 
and  industrial  conditions,  all  contributed  to  the  same  re- 
sult, namely,  the  development  of  a  "  constitutionalism  " 
akin  on  a  larger  scale  to  the  "  legalism  "  found  in  the 
field  of  private  law.  The  elements  of  growth,  develop- 
ment, adaptation,  progressive  im folding  of  the  national 
spirit  in  the  organic  law,  were  excluded  in  great  part, 
particularly  in  the  early  years  of  this  period. ^° 

20  Compare  Bryce,  "  The  very  considerations  which  have  made 
odious  to  some  American  reformers  those  restrictions  on  popular 
powers  behind  which  the  great  Corporations  and  Trusts  (and  cap- 
italistic interests  generally)  have  intrenched  themselves,  had  led  not 
a  few  in  England  to  apply  the  same  restrictions  as  inevitable  safe- 
guards to  property.  ...  In  other  words,  the  establishment  in  Brit- 
tain  of  the  status  of  rigid  Constitution  has  begun  to  be  advocated, 
and  advocated  by  the  persons  least  inclined  to  trust  Democracy." 
"Constitutions,"  p.  82. 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGE      225 

There  were  several  ways  in  which  constitutional  change 
might  be  made.  Alterations  in  the  formal  process  of 
amendment  were  possible.  The  pressure  of  public 
opinion  upon  legislative  bodies  might  become  more  quickly- 
effective.  The  judicial  interpretation  of  constitutions 
might  be  broadened  and  liberalized.  All  of  these  ways 
were  followed,  particularly  during  the  latter  part  of  this 
period.  In  the  cities  charter-making  was  usually  submit- 
ted to  a  popular  vote :  in  the  states  easier  methods  of 
amendment  were  adopted,  of  which  the  most  notable  was 
the  amendment  by  constitutional  initiative  and  referen- 
dum, as  in  Oregon.  Again  there  was  a  readier  response 
to  public  opinion  on  the  part  of  legislative  bodies.  As  the 
voices  of  protest  increased,  the  i6th  and  17th  Amendments 
were  submitted  and  ratified,  in  the  national  field,  and 
many  amendments  were  proposed  in  the  several  states. 
Constitutional  Conventions  were  called  in  states  like 
Michigan,  Ohio,  New  York,  Massachusetts  and  other 
significant  urban  and  industrial  centers. ^^  In  many  cases 
amendments  were  passed  for  the  purpose  of  meeting 
constitutional  objections  raised  by  the  courts.  A  nota- 
ble case  of  this  sort  was  the  California  amendment,  au- 
thorizing the  establishment  of  a  direct  nominating  sys- 
tem after  three  adverse  court  decisions  on  laws  passed  by 
the  Legislature.  Finally  the  judicial  attitude  toward  con- 
stitutional interpretation  was  somewhat  modified  during 
this  period  under  the  pressure  of  public  opinion  and  with 

21  See  Dodd,  op.  cit.  Ch.  V,  on  the  working  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Referendum,  and  Appendix,  pp.  295-344  for  detailed  list 
(1899-1908).  On  the  theory  of  the  powers  of  Constitutional  Con- 
ventions see  Dodd,  op.  cit.  J.  A.  Jameson,  "  The  Constitutional 
Convention"   (1866). 


226  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  aid  of  technical  information.  A  famous  case  was  the 
reversal  by  the  Illinois  Supreme  Court  of  its  early  attitude 
holding  the  limitation  of  the  hours  of  woman's  labor  to 
be  unconstitutional. 

There  thus  developed  conflicting  theories  regarding  the 
flexibility  of  the  organic  law  in  a  democracy,  the  con- 
servative clinging  to  a  rigid  and  relatively  unchangeable 
system,  while  the  liberal  advocated  the  theory  of  relatively 
easy  translation  of  the  public  will  into  fundamental  law. 
Yet  it  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  differences  in  theory 
are  not  wholly  logical  in  origin  and  aim,  but  correspond 
in  many  cases  to  differences  in  economic  attitude.  Had- 
ley  said  that  industrial  property  right  is  more  fully  pro- 
tected in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  than  any- 
where else  in  the  world.  Clauses  originally  inserted  to 
prevent  sectional  strife  were  used  to  "  strengthen  vested 
rights  as  a  whole  against  the  possibility  of  legislative  or 
executive  interference."  ^^  Consequently  the  fixed  con- 
stitution together  with  the  judicial  power  to  hold  ordinary 
legislation  unconstitutional,  afforded  an  unusually  ample 
protection,  which  a  flexible  system  might  not  retain.  The 
conflict  of  interests  overshadowed  the  more  ultimate  ques- 
tion of  the  principles  of  constitution-making  in  a  democ- 
racy, and  there  was  little  broad  discussion  of  the  relative 
merits  of  rigid  and  flexible  constitutions,  such  as  Bryce 
has  outlined  in  his  "  Essays  on  History  and  Juris- 
prudence." 

Yet  in  spite  of  the  confusion  many  changes  are  dis- 
tinctly evident  in  the  general  theory  of  the  organic  law  of 

22  Arthur  Twining  Hadley,  "  Undercurrents  in  American  Politics," 
p.  41  (1915). 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGE      227 

the  democracy.  There  is  less  emphasis  on  the  bill  of 
rights,  which  was  the  chief  factor  of  the  Revolutionary 
State  Constitution.  There  was  less  reliance  on  the  three- 
fold system  of  checks  and  balances  as  the  citadel  of  hu- 
man liberty.  There  was  feverish  argument  over  provi- 
sions for  amendment  which  in  a  number  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary constitutions  were  omitted  altogether.  There  was 
less  reliance  upon  narrow  textual  interpretation  of  consti- 
tutional documents,  and  more  of  a  disposition  to  test  new 
policies  by  the  standards  of  social  utility.  Goodnow's 
discussion  of  social  reform  and  the  constitution  seemed 
to  represent  the  general  trend  of  political  theory  toward  a 
readier  adaptation  of  the  fundamental  law  to  changing 
social  and  economic  conditions. 

In  the  first  great  interpretation  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion, made  in  the  Federalist,  solemn  warning  was  given 
against  endeavoring  to  secure  liberty  by  constitutional  re- 
straints alone.  All  such  precautions  are  mere  paper  bar- 
riers.^^  The  guarantee  of  free  institutions  lies  in  the 
"  general  genius  of  the  government."  "  Particular 
provisions,  though  not  altogether  useless,  have  far  less 
virtue  and  efficacy  than  are  commonly  attributed  to 
them."  ^^  It  is  in  the  spirit  and  temper  of  the  people, 
rather  than  in  the  written  word,  that  confidence  must 
be  placed. 

28  No.  47. 
2*  No.  83. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   UNIT   OF   DEMOCRATIC   ORGANIZATION 

The  territorial  basis  of  the  state  is  a  perennial  problem 
of  politics.  The  city  state,  the  national  state,  the  world 
state  have  appeared  from  time  to  time  as  the  local  habitats 
of  authority.  There  has  always  been  an  intimate  relation 
between  land  and  patriotism,  for  "  native  land  "  comes  to 
mean  more  than  soil,  including  an  interwoven  group  of 
economic,  social,  racial,  cultural,  religious  and  emotional 
associations  and  interests.  Especially  in  democratic  coun- 
tries has  the  question  of  the  area  best  adapted  to  most 
successful  operation  of  government  been  a  subject  of  fre- 
quent speculation.  Can  democracy  succeed  over  a  wide 
area  with  great  population,  or  must  it  be  limited  to  a  re- 
stricted area  and  a  relatively  few  people  ?  Must  the  gov- 
ernment be  close  to  the  people  in  the  territorial  and  phys- 
ical sense  in  order  to  preserve  its  democratic  sympathies? 
To  what  extent  may  authority  be  delegated  and  central- 
ized without  severing  that  relation  between  people  and 
government  on  which  the  cooperative  enterprise  of  democ- 
racy depends  ? 

Down  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War,  the  centers  of 
political  activity  and  interest  had  been  the  state  and  the 
nation,  rivals  in  the  contest  for  supremacy  which  finally 
resulted  in  armed  conflict.  State  sovereignty  and  nation- 
alism had  absorbed  the  attention  of  jurists  and  philoso- 

228 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      229 

phers.  Back  of  this  struggle  lay  an  intense  interest  and 
devotion  to  the  units  and  agencies  of  rural  government, 
which  had  played  so  large  and  vital  a  part  in  the  early 
days  of  the  colonies  and  of  the  Republic. 

During  this  later  period  the  nation  and  the  city  were 
the  centers  of  greatest  activity.  Whether  we  consider  the 
problem  from  the  practical,  the  juristic  or  the  theoretical 
point  of  view,  these  two  organs  of  government  drew  to 
themselves  the  eyes  of  public  interest.  In  the  background 
were  the  rural  governments,  the  state  and  the  undeveloped 
problems  of  internationalism. 

In  the  earlier  period  of  our  history,  universal  emphasis 
was  placed  upon  the  functions  of  the  local  governments  — 
in  this  case,  rural  governments.^  The  New  England  town 
meeting  in  particular  was  an  active  and  powerful  factor 
in  government.  Thomas  Jefferson,  while  President,  said : 
"  I  felt  the  foundations  of  the  government  shaken  under 
my  feet  by  the  New  England  township."  In  the  course 
of  time,  however,  interest  in  the  rural  local  government 
lagged,  as  the  pressing  problems  of  the  nation  and  the  city 
clamored  for  adjustment. 

For  three  quarters  of  a  century  the  overshadowing  topic 
of  political  thought  had  been  the  relations  between  state 
and  nation.  Behind  the  legal  and  political  controversy 
was  the  rivalry  between   free  and  slave  labor  systems. 

1  See  John  A.  Fairlie,  "  Local  Government  in  Counties,  Towns  and 
Villages " ;  John  W.  Burgess,  The  American  Commonwealth,  Pol. 
Sc.  Quart.,  I,  p.  9;  Simon  Patten,  Decay  of  State  and  Local  Govern- 
ments, An.  Am.  Acad.,  I,  26;  Alfred  L.  Reed,  "The  Territorial 
Basis  of  Government  under  the  State  Constitutions"  (1911)  ;  H.  S. 
Gilbertson,  "  The  County,  The  Dark  Continent  of  American  Poli- 
tics"; Francis  Lieber,  "Civil  Liberty  and  Self-Government "  (1853). 


230  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

With  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  this  struggle  was  ended, 
and  the  legal  and  industrial  chapter  closed.  No  further 
doubt  remained  regarding  the  supremacy  of  the  nation 
over  the  state.  The  doctrine  of  state  sovereignty  was 
abandoned,  although  restated  in  final  form  by  such  tal- 
ented leaders  of  the  "  Lost  Cause "  as  Davis  ^  and 
Stephens.^  This  period  was  marked  by  the  steady  ad- 
vance of  nationalizing  tendencies.  The  common  prop- 
erty of  the  nation  was  developed  into  additional  states, 
and  new  territory  added  in  1898.  Business  overleaped 
local  boundaries  and  became  nation-wide.  State  lines  did 
not  coincide  with  industrial  areas.  Likewise  labor  and 
education  were  nationalized.  There  was,  it  is  true,  fre- 
quent discussion  of  the  constitutional  position  of  the  state 
in  public  law,  and  the  significance  of  its  constitutional 
position.  But  the  silent  force  of  events  was  stronger  than 
words.  As  the  state  had  been  used  as  a  defence  for  the 
institution  of  slavery,  now  it  often  became  a  means  of 
opposition  to  railway  control  and  subsequently  to  cor- 
porate regulation,  to  the  imposition  of  the  income  tax,  to 
the  regulation  of  child  labor,  to  the  control  of  the  liquor 
traffic,  to  the  grant  of  suffrage  to  women,  until  the  state 
began  to  suffer  severely  in  popular  thought  as  the  "  twi- 
light zone  "of  causes  seeking  refuge  from  popular  con- 
trol. There  was  no  evidence  of  a  desire  to  abandon  the 
dual  system  of  government,  but  there  was  much  unmis- 
takable sentiment  in  favor  of  limiting  the  state  to  local 

2  Jefferson  Davis,  "  The  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment." 

3  A.  H.  Stephens,  "  A  Constitutional  Viev/  of  the  Late  War  be- 
tween the  States  "  ( 1867) .  See  Merriam,  "  American  Political  Theo- 
ries," Chap.  7. 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      231 

functions  and  of  giving  to  the  national  government 
powers  commensurate  with  the  far  wider  scope  of  na- 
tional affairs. 

During  this  period  of  economic  and  social  reconstruc- 
tion the  political  idealism  of  America  centered  increasingly 
around  the  national  government.  Following  the  Civil 
War  there  was  a  saturnalia  of  political  corruption  in 
Federal  affairs  unexampled  in  our  history.  But  there 
came  a  change.  The  Federal  government  was  the  first  to 
adopt  the  merit  system  in  1883.  It  attracted  aggressive 
leaders  of  the  type  of  Cleveland,  Roosevelt  and  Wilson, 
who  stood  for  national  ideals  as  few  leaders  in  state 
or  urban  life.  In  the  meantime  there  came  a  flood  of 
corruption  and  a  flood  of  light  on  the  conditions  of  states 
and  cities,  and  while  great  deeds  were  wrought  there,  yet 
on  the  whole  during  the  latter  part  of  the  period  the 
leadership  was  national  rather  than  local.  The  political 
faith  of  the  people  turned  toward  the  outstanding  national 
personalities  and  programs  which  seemed  to  interpret 
more  adequately  their  hopes. 

The  people  turned  instinctively  toward  the  nation  as 
the  most  vigorous  and  effective  expanding  of  the  ideals  of 
its  political  life.  Contests  over  the  railways,  the  tariff, 
the  trusts,  currency,  conservation,  and  foreign  affairs 
were  fought  principally,  although  by  no  means  exclu- 
sively, upon  the  national  stage  and  scale.  Both  com- 
mercial and  political  thought  tended  to  be  national  in 
character  and  scope,  leaping  over  the  boundaries  of  states. 
The  great  fear  of  centralized  power  which  had  character- 
ized our  early  history  and  the  jealousy  of  the  nation  fos- 
tered by  the  "  States'  Rights  "  school  was  gone. 


232  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

The  nation  came  to  be  looked  upon  as  the  appropriate 
agency  for  the  solution  of  most  of  the  urgent  problems  of 
the  time.  Under  the  14th  Amendment,  the  national  gov- 
ernment was  called  upon  not  merely  to  protect  the  civil 
rights  of  the  negro,  but  to  adjudicate  a  wide  range  of 
economic  and  social  problems.  The  nation  was  asked  to 
regulate  the  railroad  and  the  trust ;  to  prevent  child  labor ; 
to  encourage  and  subsidize  agriculture ;  to  ease  the  farm- 
er's burden  by  establishing  rural  credits;  to  conserve  our 
national  resources ;  to  stimulate  industry  through  sweep- 
ing impositions  of  tariffs  and  bounties;  to  solve  the  in- 
dustrial problem  through  corporate  regulation.  The  na- 
tion was  called  upon  to  grant  votes  to  women,  to  prohibit 
the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors;  to  provide  a  national 
commercial  code,  and  even  a  national  criminal  code.  The 
power  of  taxation,  the  post  office,  and  the  power  given 
inter-state  commerce  were  invoked  as  agencies  for  ex- 
tension of  the  practical  authority  of  the  national  gov- 
ernment. 

Various  types  of  national  agencies  were  involved  in  this 
nationalizing  process.  The  federal  courts  under  the  14th 
Amendment  brought  under  their  jurisdiction  the  protec- 
tion of  persons  and  property  in  a  wide  variety  of  cases, 
and  the  weight  of  the  federal  decisions  was  very  great. 
The  courts  reached  out  into  a  broad  field  of  legislation 
which  constantly  tended  to  increase  the  relative  importance 
of  the  national  government.  At  the  same  time  the  admin- 
istrative agencies  of  the  federal  government  steadily  am- 
plified the  number  of  points  of  contact  with  the  citizens 
of  the  states,  particularly  in  connection  with  the  work  of 
the    Departments    of    the    Interior,    Agriculture,    Com- 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      233 

merce  and  Labor.*  In  short,  the  national  influence -was 
a  steady  and  penetrating  force  making  its  way  through 
the  life  of  the  States. 

During  and  immediately  after  the  War,  there  was  de- 
veloped a  theory  of  the  organic  character  of  the  nation 
as  distinguished  from  the  earlier  idea  of  the  nation  as  a 
legal  entity  created  by  means  of  contract.  Men  came  to 
beHeve  that  the  nation  grew  and  was  not  merely  made  by 
the  legal  creation  of  contractual  rights  and  obligations. 
It  was  early  pointed  out  by  Lieber  that  there  is  a  wide 
difference  between  "  people  "  and  a  "  nation."  "  People  " 
signifies  merely  the  "  aggregate  of  the  inhabitants  of  a 
territory  without  any  additional  idea."  ^  "  Nation,"  on 
the  other  hand,  implies  a  homogeneous  population  inhabit- 
ing a  coherent  territory,  a  population  having  a  common 
language,  literature,  institutions  and  being  an  organic  unit. 
Jamison,^  Hurd,^  Mulford,^  Brownson,^  Woolsey,^*^ 
Draper  ^^  and  others  reasoned  to  the  same  effect  —  that 
the  nation  was  an  organic  product,  the  result  of  an  evolu- 
tionary process.  The  Supreme  Court  held  that  "  The 
union  of  the  States  was  never  a  purely  artificial  and  arbi- 
trary relation.  ...  It  began  among  the  Colonies  and 
grew  out  of  common  origin,  mutual  sympathies,  kindred 
principles,  similar  interests,  and  geographical  relations."  ^^ 

*  John  A.  Fairlie,  "  National  Administration." 

5  Miscellaneous  Writings,  II,  128. 

•"The  Constitutional  Convention"   (1866). 

7  "The  Theory  of  our  National  Existence"  (1881). 

8  "The  Nation"  (1870). 

»"The  American  Republic"  (1866). 

10  "Political  Science"  (1877). 

"  "  Thoughts  on  the  Future  Civil  Polity  of  the  U.  S."  (1865). 

12  7  Wall.  725. 


234  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Philosophical  formulations  of  the  new  nationalism  were 
made  by  many  writers.  Of  these,  however,  there  were 
two  distinct  types.  One  was  the  statement  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  national  supremacy,  emerging  from  the  war 
struggle.  The  other  was  a  doctrine  of  nationalism  in 
relation  to  social  reform.  Burgess  preached  an  exalted 
doctrine  of  the  national  state  and  its  world  mission.  In 
his  doctrine  the  national  state  is  the  most  mature  product 
of  political  history,  political  science  and  practical  politics. 
It  solves  the  problem  of  international  relations,  avoiding 
world  empire;  it  solves  the  relation  of  sovereignty  to 
liberty.  It  solves  the  problem  of  the  relation  of  central 
to  local  government,  in  that  it  rests  upon  the  principle  of 
self-government  in  both  domains.  "  Where  uniformity 
is  necessary  it  must  exist,  but  where  uniformity  is  not 
necessary  variety  is  to  reign  in  order  that  through  it  a 
deeper  and  truer  harmony  may  be  discovered."  On  the 
other  hand,  the  state  or  "  commonwealth,"  as  he  con- 
stantly termed  it,  was  dropping  behind  in  the  race  for 
political  supremacy.  "  The  commonwealth  government  " 
he  argued,  "  is  now  but  a  sort  of  middle  instance  —  too 
large  for  local  government,  too  small  for  general,  but  is 
beginning  to  be  regarded  as  a  meddlesome  intruder  in 
both  spheres  —  a  tool  of  the  strongest  interest  and  the 
oppressor  of  the  individual."  ^^  The  Supreme  Court  he 
sharply  criticized  for  the  refusal  to  place  civil  liberty 
under  federal  protection,  in  the  Slaughter  House  cases,^* 

13  See  his   remarkable  discussion   on   "The  American   Common- 
wealth," in  Political  Science  Quarterly,  Vol.  I  (1886). 
"16  Wall.  36  (1873)- 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      235 

and  its  failure  to  embody  the  national  spirit  and  will  in 
national  jurisprudence. 

A  generation  later,  Cioly  celebrated  the  alliance  be- 
tween the  principles  of  nationalism  and  the  principles  of 
democracy  —  the  democracy  of  Jefferson,  which  was  un- 
national,  and  the  nationalism  of  Hamilton,  which  was  un- 
democratic. Here  he  found  a  formula  for  the  progressive 
solution  of  political  and  social  problems.^''  It  is  the  way 
in  which  the  "  promise  of  American  life  "  is  to  be  realized, 
the  type  form  for  the  political  civilization  of  the  future. 
The  failure  of  states  to  function  he  attributed  partly  to 
defective  internal  organization  and  partly  to  lack  of  an 
adequate  program  recognizing  the  real  scope  of  the  states' 
powers.  Local  and  educational  reforms,  for  example,  are 
proper  subjects  for  state  activity,  while  commerce  and  in- 
dustry have  so  far  outgrown  state  laws  as  to  be  beyond 
effective  state  control.  The  state  in  a  majority  of  cases 
has  no  meaning  at  all  as  a  center  of  economic  organiza- 
tion and  direction,  since  business  is  related  to  the  na- 
tional system,  or  centers  around  the  municipality. 

Goodnow  in  an  incisive  study  of  the  legal  possibilities 
and  limitations  of  social  reform,  pointed  to  the  nation  as 
the  road  to  advance  upon.  If  we  were  framing  a  scheme 
of  national  government,  he  said,  our  own  experience  and 
that  of  other  countries  would  undobutedly  lead  us  to  ac- 
cord to  the  national  government  greater  powers  than  are 
now  possessed  under  the  Constitution  as  now  interpreted 
and  applied.     Even  now  the  federal  power  steadily  ex- 

15  "  The  Promise  of  American  Life  "  ( 1900) .  "  Progressive  De- 
mocracy"  (1914). 


236  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

pands  and  the  process  is  resented  only  by  those  whose  in- 
terest is  to  escape  control. ^"^  Col.  Roosevelt,  in  his  "  New 
Nationalism"  (1910)  glorified  the  nation  as  the  great 
instrument  of  social  and  political  progress,  and  preached 
the  gospel  of  a  vigorous  national  policy  directed  toward 
democratic  ends.  The  New  Nationalism  puts  the  na- 
tional need  before  sectional  or  personal  advantage.  It  is 
impatient  of  the  confusion  that  results  from  local  legis- 
latures attempting  to  treat  national  issues  as  local  issues. 
He  did  not  ask  for  "  overcentralization,"  but  for  a  spirit 
of  nationalism  in  common  affairs. ^^  There  must  be  no 
neutral  ground  "  to  serve  as  a  refuge  for  law  breakers, 
and  especially  for  law  breakers  of  great  wealth,  who  can 
hire  the  vulpine  cunning  which  will  teach  them  how  to 
avoid  both  jurisdictions." 

After  the  War  the  State  was,  of  course,  no  longer  even 
a  claimant  of  sovereign  power.  The  states'  rights  tradi- 
tion was  not  much  more  cultivated  in  the  South  than  in  the 
North.  If  one  invoked  the  state  against  the  income  tax 
the  other  appealed  to  it  against  child  labor  legislation. 
After  the  Spanish  War,  nationalism  was  as  strong  in  the 
South  as  anywhere  else,  if  not  stronger,  as  a  result  of  its 
large  native  population.  Twelve  new  states  were  added 
to  the  Union  during  this  time.  They  did  not  have  the 
historical  traditions  of  the  original  colonies  and  they  had 
no  part  in  the  long  struggle  over  States'  Rights  and  Se- 
cession. They  had  a  local  interest,  opinion  and  pride,  yet 
it  was  not,  on  the  whole,  that  of  a  State,  but  more  likely 
to  be  that  of  a  section  or  region  —  in  these  cases,  the 

^«  "  Social  Reform  and  the  Constitution,"  p.  14. 
17  Op.  cit.,  27-28. 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      237 

West,  or  the  Southwest,  with  dominant  agricultural  or 
mining  interests. 

Strong  sectional  interests  survived,  but  these  were  rep- 
resented by  territorial  groups,  as  the  South,  the  East,  the 
Central  States,  the  South  West,  the  Coast.  These  units 
often  reflected  political  and  economic  views,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  currency  question,  railroad  regulation,  demo- 
cratic and  social  reform.  The  state  line  did  not  accurately 
measure  and  localize  industry,  whether  in  the  form  of 
capital  or  labor,  nor  was  it  a  measure  of  education,  or 
religion,  or  party. ^®  With  the  return  of  the  Democratic 
party  to  power,  in  1885,  there  was  little  evidence  of  the 
survival  of  state  interests,  as  such,  although  the  balance 
of  sectional  interests  was  somewhat  altered  by  Wilson's 
election  in  1912, 

In  quantity  of  legislation,  the  American  state  during 
the  period  under  consideration  has  probably  never  been 
surpassed  in  the  history  of  law-making.  Literally  thou- 
sands of  laws  were  enacted  every  year.^®  Many  of  these 
were  purely  local  and  special  in  nature,  but  many  of  them 
were  general  in  character,  and  covered  a  wide  range  of 
human  activities.  But  their  law-making  was  often  caught 
between  the  fires  of  national  questions,  which  they  could 
not  adequately  control,  and  local  affairs  which  they  might 
better  have  left  to  the  localities. 

Of  great  significance  was  the  fact  that  there  sprang 

1*  H.  J.  Ford,  The  Influence  of  State  Politics  in  Expanding  Fed- 
eral Power,  Proceedings  of  American  Political  Science  Association, 
V,  53;  also  Sen.  Root,  Addresses,  363  (1906)  ;  somewhat  modified  in 

1909,  P-  375- 

1*  In  1906-1907,  for  example,  the  number  of  laws  passed  by  the 
various  state  legislatures  was  16,064,  of  which  7,672  were  indexed  in 


238  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

up  a  movement  in  favor  of  uniformity  of  state  legislation 
and  that  the  bulk  of  the  states  appointed  commissioners 
for  this  purpose.^*^  The  principal  motive  was  to  obtain 
agreement,  if  possible,  in  dealing  with  the  law  governing 
business  relations  throughout  the  country.  It  was  keenly 
felt  that  the  perplexing  variations  in  the  law  and  pro- 
cedure of  many  states  were  hampering  and  burdensome, 
and  that  some  coordinating  body  was  necessary.  Yet 
even  in  this  field,  effective  concurrent  legislation  was  made 
very  diflficult  by  divergent  judicial  interpretation  and  ap- 
plication, and  a  national  business  code  came  to  be  looked 
upon  in  many  quarters  with  complaisance.  The  situation 
was  such  that  whether  states  were  aggressively  active  or 
remained  passively  inactive,  the  nationalizing  tendencies 
pointed  toward  the  need  of  a  larger  unit  of  control  than 
the  individual  state. 

Some  fundamental  changes  were  made  in  the  suffrage 
and  in  direct  legislation,  and  toward  the  end  of  this  period 
there  were  numerous  suggestions  for  the  complete  reor- 
ganization of  state  government.  But  none  of  them  took 
root.  The  People's  Power  League  of  Oregon,  under  the 
inspiration  of  the  ingenious  Mr.  U'Ren,  worked  out  a 
plan  based  upon  the  theory  of  executive  leadership,  but 
this  was  rejected  by  the  voters.  The  commission  gov- 
ernment proposal  of  Governor  Hodges,  of  Kansas,  was 
not  favorably  received. ^^     Neither  Mr.  Croly's  interesting 

the  New  York  State  Library  Bulletins  on  state  legislation  of  that 
year. 

20  See    Proceedings   of   Commissioners   on   Uniform    Legislation, 
since  1892. 

21  See  Holcombe,  "State  Government  in  the  U.  S.,"  Chap.  XIV ; 
also  Mathews,  "  Principles  of  American  State  Administration." 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      239 

suggestions  for  state  reorganization  nor  the  official  pro- 
posal of  the  Socialists  met  with  a  wide  response.^^ 

The  states  did  not  fully  realize  their  possibilities  either 
in  internal  organization  or  social  and  industrial  policy. 
There  were,  of  course,  notable  exceptions,  as  in  Wisconsin 
under  the  leadership  of  La  Follette,  and  California,  under 
Johnson,  yet  these  leaders  gravitated  to  Washington  as  a 
more  fruitful  field  for  progressive  legislation. 

Possibly  the  best  presentation  of  the  importance  of  the 
state  in  our  system  of  government  was  made  by  Wilson. ^^ 
He  urged  the  importance  of  the  state  as  an  experiment 
station  in  which  new  plans  might  be  tried.  "  Every  com- 
monwealth," he  declared,  "  has  been  a  nursery  of  new 
strength;  and  out  of  these  nurseries  have  come  men  and 
communities  which  no  other  process  could  have  produced. 
Self-government  has  here  had  its  richest  harvest."  If 
our  system  of  states  had  not  come  to  us  "  by  historical 
necessity,  I  think  it  would  have  been  worth  while  to  in- 
vent it."  Local  affairs  are  not  uniform,  and  cannot  be 
made  so  by  compulsion  of  law.  What  we  seek  is  co- 
operation, but  not  the  strait- jacket.  Variety  will  not 
impair  energy,  if  there  is  genuine  cooperation.^"* 

Our  states  have  not  been  created :  they  have  sprung  up 
of  themselves,  irresponsible,  "  self -originated,  self-consti- 
tuted, self-confident,  self-sustaining,  veritable  communi- 
ties demanding  only  recognition."  The  remedy  lies,  not 
merely  in  changing  the  division  of  powers  between  state 

22  See  Conference  of  Governors,  1908. 

23  Governors'  Conference  Proceedings  (1910),  pp.  42-54. 

2*  See  also  "  An  Old  Master  and  Other  Essays,"  1893 ;  "  Constitu- 
tional Government,"  Ch.  VII. 


240  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

and  nation,  along  lines  of  actual  alteration  of  interest, 
but  in  reorganization  of  the  state  from  within.  Instead 
of  upsetting  an  ancient  system,  we  should  "  revitalize  it  by 
reorganization."  "  Centralization  is  not  vitalization," 
said  he,  and  the  atrophy  of  the  parts  will  result  in  the 
atrophy  of  the  whole. 

The  urban  population  which  in  1870  was  20.9  per  cent, 
of  the  population,  had  reached  46  per  cent,  in  19 10.  In 
many  of  the  industrial  states,  the  urban  population  grew 
to  much  more  than  half  of  the  total.  The  problems  of 
municipal  organization  and  activity  were  so  urgent  that 
they  called  for  continuous  attention  along  the  whole  line, 
from  the  individual  elector  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  The  economic  and  social  importance  of 
the  urban  center  was  very  largely  increased,  and  the  new 
situations  presented  new  questions  of  the  greatest  com- 
plexity. Organized  corruption  on  a  large  scale  developed 
in  the  larger  cities,  soon  after  the  Civil  War.  The  type 
first  revealed  was  that  seen  in  the  machinations  of  Boss 
Tweed,  and  similar  "  gangs "  in  various  other  cities. 
Simultaneously  there  began  organized  efforts  for  mu- 
nicipal betterment,  commonly  called  "  reform."  This 
contest  over  the  form,  function  and  personnel  of  city  gov- 
ernment continued  for  almost  half  a  century;  and  the  din 
of  the  struggle  still  echoes  throughout  the  land. 

The  rural  democracy  of  earlier  days  was  familiar  to 
Americans,  but  the  difficulties  of  rapidly  growing  urban 
communities  presented  a  new  set  of  difficulties,  for  which 
we  were  unprepared.  Jefferson  once  said :  "  When  they 
(the  American  people)  get  piled  upon  one  another  as  in 
Europe,  they  will  become  corrupt  as  in  Europe."     These 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      241 

troubles  were  intensified  on  the  one  hand  by  the  hetero- 
geneity of  the  population  which  made  that  "  common 
understanding  "  upon  which  all  democratic  governments 
rest,  more  difficult  to  attain  quickly;  and  on  the  other  by 
forms  of  governments  which  made  prompt  and  effective 
action  difficult  even  when  there  was  a  consensus  of  opin- 
ion ;  and  not  least  of  all,  by  the  bitter  struggles  in  the  in- 
dustrial world,  so  frequently  finding  a  battleground  in 
cities. 

The  city  was  a  new  type  of  social  aggregate,  differing 
in  form  and  function  from  the  old.  It  was  a  social  and 
industrial  unit,  with  distinct  interests  and  problems  of 
its  own,  arising  from  its  local  conditions.  The  political 
boundaries  coincided  in  the  main  with  those  of  the  local 
aggregate,  with  suburban  exceptions.  The  city  was  a 
local  business  center,  a  local  social  center,  a  local  group- 
ing quite  different  in  community  of  interest  from  the  state 
or  the  county.  Issues  and  problems  appeared,  of  pri- 
mary interest  to  the  local  community,  and  of  only  second- 
ary and  minor  importance  to  the  state  or  nation.  There 
was  vitality  and  vigor  in  the  city,  and  there  was  vivid 
life  and  color.  However  bad  or  good  it  was,  the  qual- 
ity of  the  city  was  not  atrophy  or  decline,  but  the  recal- 
citrance of  unruly  struggling  life  forces,  challenging  con- 
trol. 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  discussion  to  consider 
the  varied  and  interesting  legal  and  political  problems  of 
our  cities,  but  merely  to  direct  attention  to  the  character- 
istic political  ideas  underlying  and  appearing  in  the  effort 
to  adapt  the  old  municipality  to  the  new  conditions  of  its 
modern  life.     These  typical  ideas  are:  the  growth  of  the 


242  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

sentiment  for  local  autonomy ;  the  tendency  toward  the 
abandonment  of  the  doctrine  of  checks  and  balances;  the 
rapid  extension  of  the  functions  of  government. 

A  definite  doctrine  of  municipal  autonomy  developed 
during  this  period.  This  idea  came  to  be  called  "  munici- 
pal home  rule,"  and  its  essence  was  the  theory  that  the 
city  should  govern  itself  in  affairs  primarily  local  in 
nature. ^^  As  millions  of  people  came  crowding  together 
upon  very  limited  areas,  the  collective  problems  of  a  safe 
and  convenient  life  became  greater.  Far  broader  author- 
ity was  required  to  meet  the  desperately  urgent  problems 
of  housing,  sanitation,  public  safety,  public  utilities,  police 
and  public  welfare.  At  the  same  time  there  was  urgent 
need  for  reorganization  and  readjustment  of  forms  of 
government,  originally  designed  for  rural  communities, 
but  largely  inapplicable  under  urban  conditions.  Out  of 
these  sharp  local  needs  there  were  formulated  local  doc- 
trines and  demands  for  autonomy.  A  municipal  con- 
ciousness  and  interest  sprang  up,  and  a  new  theory  of  the 
position  of  the  city  in  the  larger  life  of  the  state  and 
nation. 

This  local  demand  was  given  recognition  in  the  form  of 
broader  grants  of  local  powers  in  many  states  either  by 
constitutional  amendment  or  by  statutory  enactment,  or 
by  broader  judicial  interpretation  of  local  powers.^®  In 
the  earlier  period  these  grants  were  limited  to  a  few 
states,^'  but  later  the  number  was  very  greatly  increased. 

25  H.  L.  McBain,  "  Law  and  Practice  of  Municipal  Home  Rule " 
(1916). 

26  See  W.  B.  Munro,  "  Government  of  American  Cities,"  Chap.  3. 
2TIn   addition   to    Missouri    and    California,    Washington,    1889; 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      243 

Missouri  in  1875  and  California  in  1879  were  the  first 
states  to  grant  municipal  home  rule  of  a  limited  type  in 
constitutional  form,  but  later  the  advance  of  the  move- 
ment was  more  rapid.  At  the  close  of  this  period  some 
thirteen  states  had  been  given  "  home  rule  "  by  constitu- 
tional amendment.  Where  no  constitutional  changes 
were  made,  statutory  enactments  enlarging  the  powers 
of  municipalities  were  the  staple  of  every  session  of  every 
legislature. 

The  new  doctrine  was  that  the  city  ought  to  be  given 
local  powers  adequate  to  its  local  needs.  The  false 
position  of  the  municipality  is  one  of  the  chief  causes, 
it  was  said,  but  not  the  only  cause  of  the  defects  of  city 
government.  The  legislature,  it  was  conceded,  should 
have  theoretically  large  powers  over  cities,  but  the  legis- 
lative policy  should  be  such  as  to  permit  of  the  develop- 
ment of  a  large  sphere  of  municipal  action  in  which  the 
cities  may  move  free  from  legislative  interference.  This 
position  was  illustrated  by  many  striking  cases  in  the 
local  history  of  particular  states. 

Freedom  and  responsibility,  said  Howe,  are  essential 
to  life  and  growth.  *'  We  have  placed  our  cities  in 
strait- jackets  and  then  expected  them  to  develop  strength 
and  character.  We  have  deprived  them  of  self-govern- 
ment and  then  wondered  why  self-government  was  a 
failure."  Give  the  city  adequate  power  to  deal  with  local 
questions,  and  there  will  arise  a  spirit  of  "  local  patriot- 
ism which  would  raise  the  American  city  from  its  present 

Minnesota,  1896;  Michigan,  1908;  Colorado,  1902;  Oregon,  1906;  Ok- 
lahoma, 1907;  Arizona,  Nebraska,  Ohio,  Texas,  in  1912;  Maryland 
in  1915- 


244  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

decadence  to  a  position  of  splendid  achievement."  ** 
Goodnow,  however,  took  a  position  unfriendly  to  the  de- 
velopment of  local  autonomy  for  cities.  "  City  popula- 
tions," said  he,  "  if  permitted  to  develop  free  of  state 
control,  evince  an  almost  irresistible  tendency  to  estab- 
lish oligarchical  and  despotic  governments."  ^^  Whether 
or  not  larger  powers  should  be  given  a  city,  depends  on 
the  political  capacity  of  the  particular  population  in 
question.  That  this  view  was  widely  taken  throughout 
the  United  States,  particularly  in  the  rural  sections,  there 
can  be  little  doubt. 

There  was  widespread  distrust  of  urban  populations, 
and  a  desire  to  curb  their  political  activities  both  inside 
and  outside  the  city  limits.^"  Concrete  evidence  of  this 
is  given  by  serious  restrictions  placed  upon  the  represen- 
tation of  cities  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Michigan, 
Missouri,  as  well  as  the  older  systems  which  came  to  dis- 
criminate against  the  New  England  cities,^^  and  by  the 
reluctance  with  which  municipalities  were  given  addi- 
tional powers  of  government.  Specific  statements  of  this 
sentiment  are  found  in  the  debates  over  state  constitu- 

28  Frederick  Howe,  "  The  City,  the  Hope  of  Democracy,"  p.  163 
(1905).  Oswald  Ryan,  "Municipal  Freedom,"  Chap,  g  (1915). 
L.  S.  Rowe,  "  Problems  of  City  Government."  D.  F.  Wilcox,  "  The 
American  City  " ;  Frank  Parsons,  "  The  City  for  the  People,"  Chap. 
3 ;  Beard,  "  American  City  Government,"  Chap.  2 ;  Horace  E.  Dem- 
ing,  "Government  of  American  Cities."  See  on  this  general  topic; 
Munro,  "  Bibliography  of  Municipal  Government." 

29  "  Municipal  Government,"  p.  378  (1909).  Also  Chap.  3  on  "  The 
Character  of  City  Populations." 

30  New  York  Con.  Convention,  1915  Home  Rule  debate.  Cali- 
fornia Con.  Conv.  1878. 

31  G.  H.  Haynes,  "  Representation  in  State  Legislatures." 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      245 

tions  from  that  of  California  in  1878  to  New  York  in 

1915- 

The  feeling  was  intensified  by  the  fear  on  the  part  of 
certain  property  interests  in  the  cities  of  the  radical  tend- 
encies of  urban  populations,  and  thus  an  opposition  from 
within  the  walls  of  the  city  was  raised  against  the  grant  of 
wider  powers  to  the  municipality.  Furthermore,  the 
larger  units  of  transportation,  of  water  supply,  and  sew- 
age disposal,  of  park  areas,  in  some  cases  made  more 
difficult  the  definition  of  local  government  areas. 

The  struggles  of  the  city  for  political  readjustment 
further  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the  doctrine  of  checks 
and  balances,  in  municipal  government.  At  the  outset 
the  form  of  American  city  government  had  been  simple. 
It  consisted  of  an  elective  council,  which  chose  the  mayor 
and  any  other  administrative  officials.  Imitation  of  the 
Federal  system  brought  about  the  adoption  of  the 
bicameral  legislature,  and  of  the  independently  elected 
mayor.  Later  came  other  elective  officials  and  boards. 
After  the  \\'ar,  there  began  a  process  of  reconstruction. 
The  double-chambered  council  was  generally  abolished, 
the  powers  of  the  various  elected  officials  were  concen- 
trated in  the  mayor,  and  finally  in  the  commission  gov- 
ernment the  powers  of  mayor  and  council  were  united 
in  a  single  body.  This  involved  the  rejection  of  the  his- 
toric political  theory  of  checks  and  balances,  under  which 
the  upper  house  of  the  legislature  was  presumed  to  check 
the  lower,  or  vice  versa,  and  the  executive  to  watch  over 
both  of  them.  Of  this  there  was  no  concealment,  but  on 
the  contrary,  the  fullest  discussion.  Many  of  the  evils 
of  municipal   management,   beginning  with  the  Tweed 


246  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

regime,  were  directly  attributed  to  the  complexity  of  the 
checking  system,  and  its  failure  to  permit  definite  location 
either  of  power  or  of  responsibility.  It  was  openly 
stated  that  the  purpose  of  the  new  type  of  government 
was  to  concentrate  power  in  clearly  responsible  hands. 
This  course  was  presented  as  an  alternative  to  the  forms 
of  "  boss  rule  "  and  mal-administration  so  familiar  to 
American  cities.'^^ 

At  the  same  time  the  concentrated  form  of  govern- 
ment was  usually  accompanied  by  new  devices  for  popular 
control  in  the  form  of  the  initiative,  referendum  and  recall. 
These  were  presumed  to  supply  the  check  and  balance 
destroyed  under  the  new  plan  of  consolidation,  substitut- 
ing direct  responsibility  to  the  electors  for  the  mechanical 
adjustment  abandoned.  These  plans  were  adopted  in 
most  of  the  new  charters  with  which  cities  were  gen- 
erally experimenting,  but  were  most  commonly  encoun- 
tered in  the  western  and  central  sections  of  the  United 
States, 

The  cities,  under  the  pressure  of  the  industrial  and 
social  conditions  developed  symptoms,  diseases  and  reme- 
dies earlier  than  elsewhere,  and  often  became  centers  of 
progressive  social  programs.  In.  dealing  with  the  un- 
regulated, competitive  public  utility  the  municipalities 
made  notable  progress  toward  regulation,  and  were  ready 
for  experiments  with  public  ownership  and  operation. 
Housing  and  •="'  \.2ry  problems  received  an  impetus  from 
the  city,  ^judget  and  financial  systems  were  more  readily 
adopted  than  in  state  or  nation,  and  the  same  was  true 

32  See  Munro,  "  Government  of  American  Cities,"  Ch.  12 ;  H. 
Bruere,  "The  New  City  Government" 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      247 

of  merit  and  efficiency  systems,  where  the  cities  led  the 
way.  In  local  judicial  administration  significant  ad- 
vances were  made  in  procedure,  in  the  prevention  of 
crime  and  reclamation  of  criminals,  in  the  application  of 
modern  psychology  to  jurisprudence.  In  the  organiza- 
tion of  recreation  and  the  development  of  the  democratic 
community  center  the  cities  made  notable  progress.  If 
they  furnished  hideous  examples  of  systematized  corrup- 
tion and  crime,  they  also  displayed  readiness  in  the 
construction  and  systematization  of  social  measures, 
many  of  which  were  not  only  useful  for  the  locality  alone 
but  models  for  other  agents  of  government.  The  urban 
community  specialized  both  in  evil  and  in  virtue :  or  more 
accurately,  the  modem  industrial  and  social  tendencies 
developed  most  rapidly  in  urban  centers,  and  their  strength 
and  weakness  was  there  most  sharply  accentuated;  the 
lights  and  shadows  of  modem  life  were  there  most  clearly 
painted. 

The  American  city  was  the  storm  center  of  powerful 
forces,  economic,  social  and  political.  Its  rapid  increase 
in  population,  the  heterogeneity  of  its  people,  the  sharply 
emerging  class  distinctions,  the  power  of  organized  labor 
and  the  formidable  concentrations  of  capital,  the  violent 
outbursts  of  radicalism,  and  the  alternately  subtle  and 
brutal  tactics  of  reaction,  the  sinister  power  of  the  boss, 
and  the  counter-organization  of  militant  "  reform  "  — 
all  these  made  the  city  a  center  of  genuine  political  interest 
and  activity.  While  the  United  States  had  been  chiefly  a 
rural  democracy,  it  now  became  partly  urban  and  partly 
rural,  with  all  the  changes  involved  in  such  a  fundamental 
transition. 


248  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Summarizing  this  movement,  it  appears  that  the  period 
opened  with  the  abandonment  of  the  doctrine  of  state 
sovereignty  which  had  few  defenders  in  expressed  theory 
or  general  sentiment.  The  nation  became  the  generally  ac- 
cepted center  of  political  interest  and  action  through  which 
public  opinion  was  to  find  expression  —  nation-wide 
democratic  opinion  working  through  the  politically  or- 
ganized nation.  Both  state  and  local  government  tended 
to  recede  into  the  background  of  thought  and  action,  al- 
though custom  and  tradition,  as  well  as  forms  of  law, 
still  afforded  them  wide  scope  for  activity.  Localism  did 
not  lose  its  hold  upon  public  thought,  but  it  declined  from 
its  position  as  claimant  to  the  throne  of  public  interest  and 
political  supremacy.  Its  strength  was  the  strength  of 
inertia;  vast,  it  is  true,  but  not  like  the  earlier  strength 
of  vigorous  and  aggressive  action.  The  earlier  identifi- 
cation of  centralization  with  tyranny  died  down,  although 
decentralization  still  remained  one  of  the  most  striking 
characteristics  of  American  theoretical  institutions.  Yet 
the  tide  was  turning  the  other  way.  The  urban  centers 
alone  show'ed  signs  of  vivid  consciousness,  and  despite 
their  large  scale  corruption  and  inefficiency  the  cohesive 
force  of  their  common  interest  had  made  them  vigorous 
organs  of  political  thought  and  action  which  found  ex- 
pression in  a  political  theory  of  urban  autonomy  and  a 
constitutional  demand  for  home  rule ;  in  vigorous  recon- 
struction of  their  local  governments;  and  in  the  begin- 
nings of  a  social  and  political  policy. 

None  of  these  positions  was  by  any  means  uncontested. 
But  they  emerged  slowly  as  great  landmarks  in  the  evo- 
lution  of   American  political   ideas.     Nationalism   fully 


THE  UNIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ORGANIZATION      249 

established  became  more  confident  and  aggressive  in  its 
attitude.  Its  rival,  the  state,  had  been  definitely  over- 
come and  stfbordinated.  The  city  was  a  vigorous  but 
not  a  dangerous  competitor. 


CHAPTER  IX 

INTERNATIONALISM PACIFISM MILITARISM 

International  relations  did  not  occupy  a  large  space 
in  the  political  thinking  of  the  early  part  of  the  period. 
For  a  long  time  the  deep  wounds  of  the  Civil  War  were 
slowly  healing,  and  the  bones  of  nationality  were  knitting. 
A  great  western  territory  was  being  occupied  and  settled. 
For  a  generation  the  interests  of  America  were  largely 
domestic.  But  as  the  free  lands  of  the  nation  were  almost 
exhausted,  as  the  balance  of  foreign  trade  began  to  turn 
in  our  favor  in  1896,  and  as  the  expanding  tendencies  of 
commerce  began  to  press  against  our  territorial  boun- 
daries, the  international  organization  entered  the  back- 
ground  of   the  American  mind. 

With  the  Spanish  War  a  new  era  began.  The  United 
States  came  into  the  military  possession  of  Spanish  lands 
in  the  East;  and  the  whole  problem  of  imperialism  and 
colonization  was  thrust  upon  us.  Sharp  differences  of 
theory  and  policy  at  once  appeared.  On  one  hand  arose 
the  opinion  that  no  territory  should  be  held  by  the  United 
States  without  the  agreement  of  its  people.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  "  consent  of  the  governed  "  was  applied  to 
the  Philippine  Islands  and  the  conclusion  drawn  that  no 
such  territory  could  rightfully  be  retained,  inasmuch  as 
the  population  was  unwilling  to  accept  American  control. 
To  hold  the  people  in  subjection  would  be  not  only  a 

250 


INTERNA  TIONALISM  —  PA  CIFISM  —  MILITARISM      25 1 

violation  of  the  rights  of  man  abroad,  but  would  in  the 
end  demoralize  democracy  at  home  by  introducing  ideas 
and  practices  incompatible  with  democratic  principles.^ 
Such  a  step  would  be  the  first  approach  toward  a  broader 
policy  of  imperialistic  expansion  in  the  course  of  which 
free  government  would  be  lost.  Overseas  possessions 
will  require  a  larger  navy  and  a  more  formidable  army. 
These  in  turn  are  likely  to  provoke  other  wars  and  wider 
conquests. 

"  I  warn  the  American  people,"  said  the  veteran  states- 
man Schurz,  "  that  a  democracy  cannot  so  deny  its  faith 
as  to  the  vital  conditions  of  its  being.  It  cannot  long 
play  the  king  over  subject  populations  without  creating 
within  itself  ways  of  thinking  and  habits  of  action  most 
dangerous  to  its  own  vitality  —  most  dangerous  especially 
to  those  classes  of  society  which  are  least  powerful  in  the 
assertion  and  the  most  helpless  in  defence  of  their  rights." 
With  great  force  and  eloquence  these  considerations  were 
presented,  and  they  reflected  the  political  ideas  of  a  large 
group  of  Americans  who  believed  that  safety  for  democ- 
racy lay  in  isolation  from  all  other  and  particularly  from 
all  European  powers. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  policy  of  overseas  expansion 
was  vigorously  defended  by  statesmen  and  philosophers, 
and  took  deep  root  in  public  opinion.     The  consent  of  the 

1  W.  J.  Bryan,  "Speeches,"  II,  17 — 1900;  David  Starr  Jordan, 
"Imperial  Democracy,"  1901 ;  Charles  Francis  Adams,  "Imperial- 
ism," 1898;  Carl  Schurz,  "American  Imperialism,"  1899;  "Life  of 
Thos.  B.  Reed,"  by  Samuel  W.  McCall,  p.  252;  Louis  F.  Post, 
"  Ethics  of  Democracy,"  Chap.  VI ;  Congressional  Record  gives  de- 
bates, especially  on  ratification  of  peace  treaty  and  on  government 
of  Philippines.     Sen.  Hoar  was  the  leading  opponent  of  imperialism. 


252  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

government,  it  was  urged,  is  conditioned  upon  capacity 
for  political  action.  If  a  population  is  not  capable  of 
democratic  self-government,  then  they  must  be  subjected 
to  a  process  of  political  education,  until  such  time  as  they 
can  govern  themselves.  They  must  be  held  as  wards  of 
the  government,  until  they  reach  political  maturity.  This 
condition  will  be  hastened  by  education,  industrial  train- 
ing and  tentative  advances  toward  complete  self-govern- 
ment. In  any  event,  the  alternative  is  not  that  of  consent 
or  no  consent,  but  of  "  democratic  education,"  or  subjec- 
tion under  Japanese  or  German  auspices.  Nor  was  there 
failure  to  point  out  that  American  trade  interests  would 
be  expanded,  and  the  national  welfare  promoted.  Com- 
merce follows  the  flag,  it  was  said. 

Inevitably  there  arose  out  of  this  controversy  over  a 
particular  territory  the  broader  question  of  democracy's 
position  in  the  family  of  nations  —  a  problem  of  deepen- 
ing interest  from  this  time  forward.  The  world-old  ques- 
tion of  the  unit  of  democratic  organization  and  the  rela- 
tion of  democracy  so  organized  to  other  nations  reached 
and  touched  America.  Notable  was  the  prophecy  of  Gid- 
dings :  ^  "Is  it  not  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  United 
States  having  been  brought,  as  England  many  years  ago 
was  brought,  face  to  face  with  this  problem  in  its  practical 
form  will  make  precisely  the  choice  that  England  made; 
and  that  it  will  resolutely  give  its  attention  to  the  task  of 
doing  its  share  in  that  attempt  to  bring  tropical  regions 
under  efficient  government  and  a  sound  industrial  or- 
ganization, which  is  the  only  ultimate  possibility  to  be 
thought  of  by  humane  and  far-seeing  men?  " 
?  "  Democracy  and  Empire,"  p.  285. 


INTERNATIONALISM  —  PACIFISM  —  MILITARISM      253 

The  annexation  view  prevailed,  but  with  the  under- 
standing that  as  soon  as  the  Philippines  were  ready  for 
self-government  (in  the  judgment  of  the  United  States) 
they  should  be  given  independence.  The  Supreme  Court 
reluctantly  sustained  the  principle  of  the  Congressional 
acts  for  the  government  of  the  newly  acquired  territory.^ 

Yet  the  Philippine  question  was  only  an  incident  in  the 
international  relationships  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
broader  problem  of  the  relation  of  one  democracy  under 
modern  conditions  to  the  other  states  of  the  world,  rap- 
idly became  urgent.*  The  Monroe  Doctrine  was  devel- 
oped and  applied,  and  diplomats  of  the  type  of  John  Hay 
intelligently  competed  with  European  states  in  the  outlines 
of  a  national  policy,  particularly  in  the  Orient.  The 
nation  was  drifting  out  on  the  international  sea. 

The  acquisition  of  overseas  dependencies  floated  the 
nation  gently  into  the  swift  current  which  was  certain  to 
lead  to  the  mingling  of  international  waters.  Doctrines 
of  international  duty  and  mission  were  developed  and 
widely,  although  not  universally,  accepted.  America 
slowly  awakened  to  international  consciousness  and  the 
sense  of  international  rights  and  duties;  began  to  think 
and  act  internationally.  Whether  as  imperialist  or 
pacifist  in  tendency ;  whether  to  bring  to  the  world  peace 
or  a  sword;  whether  inspired  by  selfish  motives  of  gain 
or  altruistic  sentiments  of  humanity  was  not  so  signif- 
icant in  the  general  growth  of  American  thought  as  the 

8  De  Lima  v.  Bidwell,  181  U.  S.  i. 

*  Roland  G.  Usher,  "  Pan-Americanism,"  1915 ;  "  The  Challenge 
of  the  Future,"  1916.  John  H.  Latane,  "  America  as  a  World 
Power." 


254  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

fundamental  fact  that  the  international  instinct  and  inter- 
est awoke,  and  that  internationalism  won  its  way 
against  the  historic  traditions  of  "  splendid  isolation." 

From  the  beginning  of  the  Republic,  the  military  func- 
tion of  the  state  has  been  minimized.  Even  in  the  Co- 
lonial days,  the  Quakers  made  opposition  to  war  an 
article  of  their  religious  creed,  and  consistently  refused 
military  service  from  the  earliest  days.  William  Penn 
prepared  a  universal  peace  project  in  1693  i^  the  form  of 
an  essay  on  the  present  and  future  peace  of  Europe.  The 
Friends  were  continuously  active  in  opposition  to  war, 
and  their  influence  is  seen  throughout  the  whole  pacifist 
movement  from  William  Penn  to  Jane  Addams.^ 

Opposition  to  a  standing  army  was  one  of  the  cardinal 
principles  during  the  Revolution,  and  the  maintenance  of 
such  an  establishment  was  one  of  the  popular  charges 
against  the  British  government.  Any  large  permanent 
military  establishment  was  regarded  as  a  menace  to  the 
liberties  of  the  people,  inconsistent  with  the  genius  of  a 
free  people.  The  Jeffersonian  Democracy  opposed  any 
extensive  development  either  of  military  or  of  naval 
power,  and  made  this  policy  a  part  of  their  political 
program.  Furthermore,  the  supremacy  of  the  civil  over 
the  military  power  was  generally  regarded  as  one  of  the 
fundamentals  of  a  free  government.  Notwithstanding 
the  wars  of  181 2  and  1845  ^"^  the  prominence  and  popu- 
larity of  Andrew  Jackson,  leader  of  the  Democracy  which 

5  On  the  general  history  of  the  peace  and  war  movement  see : 
Krehbiel,  "Nationalism,  War  and  Society,"  1916;  Hirst,  F.  W., 
"  Library  of  Peace  and  War,"  1907 ;  Fried,  "  Handbuch  der  Friedens- 
bewegung,"  1911-13;  Edwin  D.  Mead,  "The  Literature  of  the  Peace 
Movement." 


INTERNA  TIONALISM  —  PA  CIFISM  —  MILITARISM      255 

bore  his  name,  a  very  strong  anti-war  sentiment  devel- 
oped in  the  United  States  prior  to  the  Civil  War. 

The  American  Peace  Society  was  founded  in  1828  for 
purposes  of  propaganda  against  militarism,  after  a  num- 
ber of  state  societies  had  been  established.  Many  of  the 
Abolitionists  were  non-resistants  in  principle,  and  were 
against  the  use  of  force  by  government  whether  for  ex- 
ternal or  internal  purposes.  Men  of  the  type  of  Dr. 
Channing/  Charles  Sumner,^  Ladd,^  Quincy,  Emerson 
and  others  were  unceasing  in  their  attacks  upon  the  evils 
of  war.  They  analyzed  the  causes  and  consequences  of 
national  strife  in  elaborate  arguments,  impressively  ar- 
rayed. The  property  losses  of  war  were  set  down  and 
totalled,  the  atrocities  of  battle  and  the  hardships  of  the 
soldier's  life  were  pictured  in  detail,  the  conflict  between 
brute  force  and  the  standards  of  Christianity  was  fully 
expounded,  plans  for  international  conciliation  and  arbi- 
tration were  considered  and  types  of  international  gov- 
ernment were  discussed.  Ladd  developed  with  strong 
support  from  Sumner  the  idea  of  a  Congress  of  Nations 
with  a  High  Court  of  Judicature.^" 

The  geographical  isolation  of  the  United  States  from 
the  other  powers  of  the  world,  the  imperfect  means  of 
communication  and  transportation,  the  traditional  fear 
of  a  standing  army  and  in  fact  of  any  strong  government 
as  a  menace  to  liberty  —  all  these  factors  combined  to 

"^  Discourses  on  War. 

8  "  The  True  Grandeur  of  Nations  "  1845. 

»  Essay  on  War.  See  also  Jonathan  Dymond,  "  An  Inquiry  into 
the  Accordancy  of  War  with  the  Principles  of  Christianity,"  1834. 

1"  See  William  Ladd,  "  An  Essay  on  a  Congress  of  Nations." 
1840. 


256  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

render  easy  the  development  of  a  peace  philosophy  and 
policy.  In  the  Northern  states  and  among  those  opposed 
to  slavery  this  sentiment  was  particularly  strong,  while 
in  the  South  the  pacifist  doctrines  were  less  cordially 
received.  In  the  Mexican  War,  this  contrast  was  partic- 
ularly noticeable.  The  Civil  War  rudely  broke  the  con- 
tinuity of  organized  opposition  to  the  use  of  military 
force.  A  great  army  was  placed  in  the  field  to  preserve 
the  Union  and  to  destroy  slavery;  and  another  to  serve 
the  opposite  purpose.  The  anti-war  movement  as  a  phil- 
osophy came  to  a  sharp  halt.  There  was  bitter  and  con- 
tinued criticism  of  the  conduct  of  the  war,  but  even  the 
Garrisonian  Abolitionists  tacitly  if  not  openly  accorded 
their  approval  to  the  military  movement. 

During  the  last  half-century,  the  anti-militarist  move- 
ment revived  and  went  forward  with  renewed  impetus. 
The  echoes  of  the  Civil  War  soon  died  away.  The 
mighty  military  establishment  built  up  during  the  great 
struggle  over  the  cause  of  the  Union  was  quickly  dis- 
mantled. The  army  melted  away;  officers  and  soldiers 
mingled  in  civil  life;  and  the  war  spirit  soon  disappeared, 
not  to  emerge  for  a  generation.  During  this  time  the 
United  States  still  continued  to  be  isolated  politically 
from  European  states,  although  constantly  brought 
nearer  by  improvements  in  means  of  transportation  and 
by  international  trade.  Various  forces  combined  to 
facilitate  the  pacifist  movement.  The  swift  growth  of 
industrialism  tended  to  drive  into  the  background  the  mil- 
itaristic tendencies  of  men,  and  labor  became  increasingly 
jealous  of  the  use  of  military  force  in  industrial  conflicts. 
At  the  same  time  the  settlement  of  the  far-reaching  terri- 


INTERNA  TIONAUSM  —  PA  C  IF  ISM  —  MILITARISM      257 

tory  to  the  west  and  the  industrial  reorganization  of  the 
south  afforded  an  outlet  to  the  expansive  tendencies  of 
the  nation.  The  period  of  peace  was  again  interrupted 
by  the  Spanish  War  of  1898,  but  this  was  of  such  brief 
duration  that  it  did  not  deeply  affect  the  general  move- 
ment against  war. 

The  leaders  of  all  groups  united  in  a  peace  philosophy 
and  program  which  went  forward  almost  without  op- 
position from  any  influential  element  in  the  nation.  Mr. 
Bryan  and  Mr.  Root,  Mr.  Taft  and  Mr.  Debs  and  Mr. 
Carnegie,  the  Federation  of  Labor  and  the  Bankers'  Asso- 
ciation, the  churches,  the  parties,  the  schools,  the  states- 
men, representatives  of  all  sections  and  classes  were 
united  in  their  devotion  to  a  thorough-going  peace  pro- 
gram. ^^ 

The  American  Peace  Society  continued  its  efforts  be- 
gun in  1828;  the  American  Association  for  International 
Conciliation  was  organized  in  1906;  the  American  Society 
for  the  Judicial  Settlement  of  International  Disputes  in 
1910;  the  World  Peace  Foundation  and  the  Carnegie  En- 
dowment in  the  same  year ;  and  the  Church  Peace  Union 
in  1913.  There  was  active  participation  in  the  Inter- 
Parliamentary  Union.  The  United  States  vigorously  as- 
sisted in  the  Hague  Conferences.*^  Under  Presidents 
Taft  and  Wilson  the  formation  of  arbitration  treaties  was 

11  See  Publications  of  National  Peace  Congress :  Lake  Mohonk 
Conferences  on  International  Arbitration,  1895- ;  The  World  Peace 
Foundation,  1910-;  American  Assn.  for  International  Conciliation, 
1906- ;  Carnegie  Endowment  for  International  Peace,  1910-. 

12  See  Instructions  to  the  American  Delegates  to  the  Hague  Peace 
Conferences  and  their  OfHcial  Reports  (Carnegie  Endowment  for 
International  Peace,  1916). 


258  American  political  Ideas 

actively  and  successfully  pursued  as  a  distinct  policy  of 
the  nation.  The  military  function  of  the  government  was 
reduced  to  the  lowest  terms.  Just  before  the  Spanish 
War,  the  standing  army  of  the  United  States  was  less  than 
75,000  in  a  population  of  as  many  millions,  while  the  state 
militia  had  been  brought  down  to  the  minimum  in  num- 
bers, equipment  and  efficiency. 

The  peace  philosophy  during  this  time  was  elaborately 
developed  by  many  statesmen  and  scholars.  In  general, 
however,  the  type  of  argument  shifted  away  from  that 
advanced  in  the  earlier  period  of  our  history.  Empha- 
sis was  placed  upon  factors  which  had  hitherto  been 
largely  neglected.  Considerations  taken  from  biology, 
psychology,  economics,  ethnology,  sanitation,  industrial- 
ism and  internationalism  were  now  made  parts  of  the 
case  against  war.  In  the  latter  part  of  this  period,  the 
influence  of  the  European  crusade  against  militarism  was 
felt  in  many  quarters  here.  The  scientific  arguments 
advanced  by  Bloch,^^  Angell,^^  Spencer,^''  Novicow,^^ 
and  above  all  the  moving  appeals  of  Count  Tolstoi,  the 
great  Russian  apostle  of  peace,  were  felt  throughout  the 
land.^"  The  counter  attacks  made  by  the  European  apos- 
tles  of   militarism   had   little   vogue;   and   indeed   were 

""The  Future  of  War." 

1*  "  The  Great  Illusion." 

*5  Political  Institutions. 

i«  "  War  and  Its  Alleged  Benefits." 

17 "  War  and  Peace,"  1889.  Compare  Liebknecht,  "  Militarism," 
1907.  The  literary  side  of  the  war  problem  was  reflected  in  Stephen 
Crane's  "Red  Badge  of  Courage,"  1896;  Mary  Johnston,  "Cease 
Firing,"  1912;  Ednah  Aiken,  "The  Hate  Breeders,"  1916.  With 
these  compare  Zola's  "  The  Downfall,"  1898 ;  Zangwill's  "  The  War 
God,"  1911;  Bertha  von  Suttner's  "Ground  Arms,"  1894. 


INTERNA  TIONALISM  —  PA  CIFISM  —  MILITARISM      259 

scarcely  known  except  among  the  small  circle  of  special- 
ists in  social  science  and  certain  of  the  army  group. 
Nietzsche,^*  Treitschke,^^  and  Bernhardi,^^  with  their 
practical  application  of  the  Darwinian  theory  to  group 
struggles  among  the  nations,  passed  practically  unno- 
ticed.^^ They  were  not  seriously  considered  either  by  the 
mass  of  the  people  or  even  by  the  few  who  were  familiar 
with  the  general  tenor  of  these  war-like  speculations. 

The  new  anti-war  argument  rested  upon  many  diverse 
bases.  David  Starr  Jordan,  the  biologist,  undertook  a 
biological  demonstration  of  the  deteriorating  effect  of 
war  upon  the  htunan  race.^^  Rome  declined,  he  con- 
tended, because  the  old  Roman  stock  was  exterminated 
in  the  course  of  the  long  protracted  wars  waged  by  that 
nation.  "  No  race  of  men  or  animals,"  he  said,  "  has 
improved  save  through  selection  of  the  best  for  parentage, 
while  war  makes  sacrifices  of  its  most  desirable  parents." 
The  destructive  effects  of  w::r  upon  race  stock  he  under- 
took to  demonstrate  in  detail  statistically  and  scientifi- 
cally. Attention  was  directed  to  the  large  war  losses 
arising  from  defective  sanitation  in  war  times.  Specific 
losses  from  disease  were  brought  into  clearer  reUef  than 
before,  and  the  general  laxity  of  conditions  accompany- 
ing the  military  process. 

18  "  The  Will  to  Power." 

19  "  Politik." 

20  "  Germany  and  the  Next  War." 

21  See  also  Cramb,  J.  A.,  "Germany  v.  England,"  1914;  "Origin 
and  Destiny  of  Imperial  Britain  and  Nineteenth  Century  Europe," 
1915. 

22  "War  and  the  Breed,"  1915;  "The  Human  Harvest,"  1906; 
"War  and  Waste,"  1900;  "War's  Aftermath,"  1914;  Vernon  L. 
Kellog,  "  Beyond  War,"  191 2. 


26o  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

The  new  pacificism  was  entitled  "  inductive  or  practi- 
cal "  in  contrast  to  the  early  type  termed  "  deductive  "  or 
"  idealist."  Its  scope  covered  a  challenge  of  the  economic 
benefits  of  war;  an  elaboration  of  the  biological  losses 
from  war;  an  analysis  of  the  dangers  from  competitive 
armament;  an  analysis  of  certain  weaknesses  of  national- 
ism; and  elaborate  projects  for  the  reconstruction  of 
society. 

Jane  Addams,  profound  student  of  urbanism,  industri- 
alism and  feminism,  pointed  out  the  ethical  disadvantages 
of  the  war  idea  and  system,^^  In  modern  industrial  civ- 
ilization the  earlier  war  virtues  have  no  real  place.  New 
types  of  courage  and  patriotism  must  be  developed  to 
meet  these  new  conditions.  "  It  is  the  military  idea, 
resting  content  as  it  does  with  the  passive  results  of  order 
and  discipline  which  confesses  a  totally  inadequate  con- 
ception of  the  value  and  power  of  human  life."  "  Great 
constructive  plans  and  humanized  interests,"  she  con- 
tinued, "  have  captured  our  hopes  and  we  are  finding  that 
war  is  an  implement  too  clumsy  and  barbaric  to  subserve 
our  purpose." 

At  the  same  time  the  eminent  psychologist,  William 
James,^*  developed  the  necessity  of  providing  what  he 
called   the   "  moral   equivalent   of   war."     The   military 

23 "  Newer  Ideals  of  Peace,"  1907.  Ch.  VIII ;  compare  Lucia 
Ames  Meade,  "Swords  and  Plowshares"  1912;  Chas.  W.  Eliot, 
"  The  Road  Toward  Peace,"  1915. 

2* "  Moral  Equivalent  of  War."  Compare  Henry  Rutgers  Mar- 
shall, "War  and  the  Ideal  of  Peace,"  1915;  Beals,  "The  Higher 
Soldiership,"  1912;  A.  B.  Hart,  "School  Books  and  International 
Prejudices,"  1911;  George  M.  Stratton,  "Syllabus  of  Lectures  on 
"  The  Psychology  of  the  War  Spirit,"  1915. 


INTERNA  TIONALISM  —  PA  CIFISM  —  MILITARISM      261 

virtues  of  "  intrepidity,  contempt  of  softness,  surrender 
of  private  interest,  obedience  to  command  "  must  still 
continue  as  the  enduring  cement  of  states.  "  It  is  only 
a  question  of  blowing  on  the  spark  until  the  whole  popu- 
lation gets  incandescent,  and  on  the  ruins  of  the  old 
morals  of  military  honor,  a  stable  system  of  morals,  of 
civic  honor,  builds  itself  up."  As  a  substitute  for  mili- 
tary conscription  he  urged  the  drafting  of  all  youth  to 
form  for  several  years  an  "  army  enlisted  against  na- 
ture " ;  to  contend  with  the  "  sour  and  hard  foundations 
of  his  higher  life."  He  would  draft  them  "to  coal 
and  iron  mines,  to  freight  trains,  to  fishing  fleets  in 
December,  to  dishwashing,  to  clothes  washing,  and  win- 
dow washing,  to  road-building  and  tunnel  making,  to 
foundries  and  stoke-holes,  and  to  the  frames  of  the 
sky-scraper." 

The  earlier  calculation  of  the  enormous  cost  of  war 
by  destruction  of  property  and  suspension  of  productive 
labor  was  further  developed  by  inquiry  into  the  under- 
lying economic  causes  of  conflict  between  nations.^^ 
The  influence  of  trade  jealousy,  desire  for  commercial 
expansion  and  business  opportunity,  for  exploitation  of 
new  territory,  the  far-reaching  influence  of  commercial- 
ism as  a  factor  in  inviting  conflict,  were  closely  examined. 
Sometimes  this  was  the  work  of  the  Socialists  who  inter-» 
preted  all  war  in  terms  of  the  capitalistic  class  selfishness 
and  desire  to  use  the  machinery  of  the  state  for  comn»4i^j 

25  George  R.  Kirkpatrick,  "  War  ?  What  For  ?  "  1910 ;  Georg  E. 
Roberts,  "  Economic  Effects  of  the  War,"  1915 ;  Henry  C.  En""  ry, 
"Some  Economic  Aspects  of  War,"  1914;  Mass.  Comm.  on  the  Cjst 
of  Living,  "Waste  of  Militarism,"  1910;  Alvin  S.  Johnson,  "Com- 
merce and  War,"  1915. 


262  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

cial  purposes;  and  again  in  less  partisan  fashion  by 
students  of  the  problem  interested  only  in  the  analysis 
of  the  fundamental  causes  of  national  strife.^*' 

Likewise  the  racial  characteristics  set  down  in  the  ear- 
lier days  under  the  general  head  "  prejudice  "  were  more 
closely  examined,  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  their  funda- 
mental nature,  their  causes,  and  the  means  of  lessening, 
if  possible,  their  force  or  reconciling  their  common  exist- 
ence. The  roots  of  race  antipathy  and  the  deep  senti- 
ments of  cosmopolitan  human  sympathy,  an  understand- 
ing of  the  elemental  race  forces  and  forms  were  sought  as 
the  key  to  the  mystery  of  war.  Jane  Addams  declared 
that  "  The  advocates  of  Peace  would  find  the  appeal  both 
to  Pity  and  Prudence  totally  unnecessary  could  they 
utilize  the  cosmopolitan  interests  in  human  affairs  with 
the  resultant  sympathy  that  is  developing  among  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth."  A  comprehensive  inquiry  was 
made  or  begun  into  all  the  varied  and  complex  elements 
out  of  which  warfare  springs. 

The  united  opposition  to  the  development  of  the  war 
function  of  the  government  undertook  in  the  broadest 
way  the  construction  of  the  machinery  for  the  prevention 
of  international  conflicts.  This  goal  had  not  been 
ignored  in  the  days  of  Sumner,  but  now  the  abandoned 
project  was  taken  up  with  the  greatest  zeal  and  energy. 
A  systematic  attempt  was  made  to  lay  the  foundations  of 
a  permanent  peace  tribunal  —  a  parliament  of  man,  of 
the  type  prefigured  by  the  Hague  Tribunal.-^     Butler 

28  See  the  elaborate  plans  outlined  by  the  Carnegie  Endowment 
for  International  Peace,  summarized  in  the  annual  year  books. 
2^  Raymond  L.   Bridgman,   "World   Organization";   "The   First 


INTERNA  TIONALISM  —  PACIFISM  —  MILITARISM      263 

discussed  the  elements  of  the  "  international  mind  "  ^* 
in  philosophical  style.  The  socialist  groups  considered 
the  future  possibilities  of  international  labor  organization. 
The  political  scientists  inquired  into  the  various  types  of 
international  unions  as  possible  points  of  vantage  from 
which  a  permanent  association  might  ultimately  be 
formed.^®  Lippman  recognized  that  peace  is  not  merely 
negative  idea,  but  involves  positive  and  constructive  ac^ 
tion.  He  would  not  leave  the  world  to  "  harder  men." 
Pacifists,  he  remarks,  "  may  be  good  monks  and  per- 
haps they  will  be  saved  by  faith.  They  will  not  be  saved 
by  works.  For  they  are  leaving  mankind  in  the  lurch," 
He  presented  in  pursuance  of  his  theory  a  tentative  outline 
of  international  organization  whose  chief  task  would  be 
the  administration  of  the  backward  states, —  a  prime 
cause  of  modern  warfare. 

Under  the  leadership  of  President  Taft  an  earnest  ef- 
fort was  made  to  provide  for  international  arbitration, 
as  a  means  of  ensuring  peace;  and  in  spite  of  much  oppo- 
sition this  program  was  steadily  advancing.  Mr.  Bryan 
had  likewise  committed  himself  to  this  policy  and  had  ren- 
dered effective  service  in  the  cause.  Mr.  Carnegie  en- 
dowed the  Peace  Foundation  and  constructed  the  Peace 
Temple  at  The  Hague.  The  overwhelming  tendency  of 
America  was  to  favor  all  means  of  reducing  the  horrors 
of  war,  limiting  armaments,  arbitration  of  disputes,  and 
ultimate  elimination  of  war  among  civilized  nations.     It 

Book  of  World  Law,"  191 1;  David  Jayne  Hill,  "World  Organiza- 
tion," 191 1 ;  B.  F.  Trueblood,  "The  Federation  of  the  World,"  1899. 

28  "  The  International  Mind,"  1912. 

2»Paul  S.  Reinsch,  "  Public  International  Unions,"  191 1. 


264  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

was  confidently  hoped  that  the  international  duellum 
would  follow  the  personal  duel  to  oblivion, 

A  searching  study  of  the  underlying  causes  of  war 
and  the  necessary  bases  of  peace  was  made  by  Veblen.^" 
He  first  projected  an  analysis  of  national  patriotism,  the 
origin  of  which  he  found  in  the  necessity  for  group  action 
in  the  earlier  stages  of  growth  and  the  survival  of  which 
he  found  to  be  at  cross  purposes  with  modern  life.  The 
civilised  scheme  is  cosmopolitan  in  character  "  both  in 
its  cultural  requirements  and  in  its  economic  structure." 
Modern  culture  cannot  be  held  within  the  frontiers  of 
any  one  state,  "  except  at  the  cost  of  insufferable  crip- 
pling and  retardation."  Modern  culture  is  the  "culture 
of  Christendom  at  large,  not  the  culture  of  one  and  an- 
other nation  in  severalty,  within  the  confines  of  Christen- 
dom." 31 

The  chief  obstacles  to  peace  he  found  in  the  imperial- 
istic ambitions  and  dynastic  organization  of  Germany 
and  Japan.  There  is  no  neutral  course  between  uncon- 
ditional surrender  to  these  powers  and  their  practical 
elimination.  As  constructive  steps  he  proposed  a  "  policy 
of  avoidance  "  of  offense  and  occasion  for  annoyance, 
"  peace  by  neglect."  In  this  the  chief  moves  are  the 
"  neutralization  "  of  citizenship  and  the  "  neutralization  " 
of  trade  relations.^^  Nations,  he  believed,  are  "  held  up 
in  their  quest  for  peace  chiefly  by  an  accumulation  of 
institutional  apparatus  that  has  outstayed  its  usefulness." 

3°  "  An  Inquiry  into  the  Nature  of  Peace  and  the  Terms  of  its 
Perpetuation,"  1917. 

31  Cf.  E.  V.  Robinson,  "War  and  Economics  in  History  and 
Theory,"  in  P.  S.  Q.,  15,  581. 

S2  Chaps.  V-VI. 


INTERNA  TIONALISM  —  PA  C  IF  ISM  —  MILITARISM      265 

This  machinery  must  be  internationalized  by  neutralizing 
merchant  shipping,  maritime  trade,  commercial  transac- 
tions, and  the  "  personal  and  pecuniary  "  rights  of  citi- 
zens abroad  —  citizenship  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the 
term.  There  might  be  loss  under  such  a  regime  to  dynas- 
tic or  business  enterprise,  but  not  to  the  common  man. 
Veblen's  proposal  then  was  not  the  construction  of  any 
new  machinery,  but  the  gradual  abandonment  of  the  old 
or  that  part  of  it  from  which  the  chief  national  or  inter- 
national irritations  arise. 

The  policy  of  the  national  government  was  definitely 
directed  toward  the  ultimate  elimination  of  the  military 
activities  of  the  state,  or  toward  any  present  step  that 
seemed  to  lead  in  that  direction.  It  is  not  to  be  assumed, 
however,  that  there  was  entire  agreement  among  all  the 
various  types  of  peace  advocates.  There  were  anarchists 
who  were  against  all  coercion  as  such  whether  external  or 
internal;  there  were  socialists  who  were  against  wars  as 
capitalistic  enterprises  and  some  who  were  against  all 
wars ;  there  were  non-resistants  who  were  for  peace  at  any 
price ;  there  were  those  who  were  willing  to  uphold  right- 
eous or  defensive  wars  as  against  unrighteous  or  unjust 
wars;  there  were  those  who  coupled  in  principle  and  in 
policy  preparedness  and  peace  propaganda.  Even  the 
apparently  solid  peace  movement  had  deep  differences  be- 
neath its  placid  surface.  There  were  those  who  were 
willing  to  fight  for  peace  and  those  who  were  in  a  mood 
for  non-resistance  under  all  circumstances.  But  the  peace 
philosophy  as  such  passed  current  with  little  question  of 
its  real  value  in  exchange.  All  classes  were  theoretically 
in  favor  of  the  abstract  desirability  of  eliminating  war. 


266  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

There  was  no  military  group  to  defend  militarism,  and 
no  party  or  philosophy  supporting  it  as  in  Germany,  It 
was  difficult  to  obtain  the  necessary  public  interest  to 
secure  an  adequate  appropriation  for  the  most  rudimen- 
tary type  of  national  defence. 

Yet  throughout  this  period  war  was  not  without  its 
quiet  defenders,  and  its  outspoken  apologists.  One  of 
the  most  important  military  works  of  the  century,  and 
probably  the  most  significant  of  all  in  regard  to  naval 
affairs,  was  that  of  Captain  Mahan  on  "  The  Influence  of 
Sea  Power  upon  History  "  ^^  (1890).  This  penetrating 
study  of  the  significance  and  value  of  the  control  of  sea 
routes  was  read  with  interest  everywhere,  and  is  said  to 
have  furnished  the  immediate  impulse  to  the  development 
of  the  German  sea  policy.  Capt.  Mahan  also  took  up 
the  defence  of  war  against  those  who  denounced  this 
part  of  the  work  of  government  as  an  unmixed  evil.^* 
We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  that  "  all  organized 
force  is  in  a  degree  war,  and  that  upon  organized  force 
the  world  has  so  far  progressed  and  still  progresses." 
There  are  economies  in  war  of  a  fundamental  nature. 
Just  as  it  is  cheaper  to  build  dykes  than  to  suffer  a  flood ; 
as  it  is  cheaper  to  maintain  police  than  to  tolerate  an- 
archy; so  war  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  chaos  of  unorgan- 

33  "  Influence  of  Sea  Power  upon  the  French  Revolution  and  Em- 
pire," 1892;  "The  Life  of  Nelson,"  1900;  "The  Interest  of  Amer- 
ica in  Sea  Power,"  1897 ;  "  The  Lessons  of  the  War  with  Spain," 
1899;  "The  Problems  of  Asia,"  1900;  "Retrospect  and  Prospect," 
1902 ;  "  Types  of  Naval  Officers,"  1901 ;  "  Interest  of  America  in 
International  Conditions,"  1900;  "Armaments  and  Arbitration," 
1912;  "Sea  Power  and  the  War  of  1812,"  1905. 

3* "  Some  Neglected  Aspects  of  War,"  1899 ;  "  Armaments  and 
Arbitration,"  1912. 


INTERNA  TIONALISM  —  PACIFISM  —  MILITARISM      267 

ized  conflict  between  the  blind  and  leaderless  forces  that 
always  are  found  in  the  world  somewhere  or  other  in 
some  form  or  other.  War  is  an  admittedly  crude  means 
of  preserving  world  order,  yet  at  the  present  stage  of 
the  world's  progress  cannot  be  abandoned  with  safety  by 
any  state.  Nor  can  compulsory  arbitration  prove  ef- 
fective against  the  impulse  to  war,  unless  the  heart,  the 
desire  for  peace  is  there.^^ 

Sumner  also  declared  that  war  possesses  an  educative 
value  of  no  little  importance  in  the  evolution  of  society. 
War  provides  a  rude  and  imperfect  selection  of  the  most 
aggressive  types  of  the  race.^^  It  allows  the  elimination 
or  subordination  of  the  unfit.  Giddings  believed  the 
brotherhood  of  man  must  be  brought  about  by  "  blood 
and  iron,"  as  much  as  by  "  thought  and  love."  ^"^ 

Capt.  Homer  Lea  in  "  The  Valor  of  Ignorance,"  1909, 
and  "  The  Day  of  the  Saxon,"  19 12,  also  staunchly  up- 
held the  doctrine  that  war  is  inevitable  and  that  militarism 
is  therefore  indispensable.  Arbitration  and  disarma- 
ment are  futile  expedients,  based  on  ignorance  or  indiffer- 
ence regarding  the  fundamental  laws  of  nature.  War 
cannot  end  until  human  characteristics  are  so  altered  that 
"  complete  socialism  and  harmonious  anarchy  prevail." 
In  the  meantime  all  the  influences  of  industrialism,  com- 
mercialism, feminism  and  political  quackery  are  to  be 
resisted  and  overcome. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  emphasized  the  importance  of  mili- 

"  See  his   address   before   the   Church   Congress   of  Providence, 
R.  I.,  1900,  on  "  War  from  the  Christian  Standpoint." 
^^  "  War  and  Other  Essays,"  191 1. 
37  See  "  Democracy  and  Empire,"  p.  343. 


268  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

tary  and  particularly  of  naval  preparation  throughout 
his  public  career.  He  opposed  the  negotiation  of  peace 
treaties  providing  for  the  submission  of  all  questions  to 
arbitration,  including  under  that  head  "  national  honor." 
After  the  outbreak  of  the  Great  War,  he  undertook  a 
vigorous  campaign  for  preparedness.  This  was  not 
based  upon  a  defence  of  war,  however,  but  upon  the  dan- 
ger and  folly  of  national  indifference  to  the  imminent 
dangers  arising  from  foreign  military  aggression,  in 
this  he  was  supported  by  many  other  publicists  and  by  a 
strong  body  of  public  opinion.^^ 

The  outstanding  features  of  this  period  were  the  dis- 
banding of  the  world's  greatest  military  force;  the  en- 
thusiastic pursuit  of  a  peace  policy ;  the  vigorous  policy  of 
arbitration  and  international  agreement;  the  adoption  of 
a  colonial  policy;  the  gradual  drift  into  the  sea  of  world 
politics. 

Nationalism  and  peace  policies  were  the  characteristic 
marks  of  the  period,  while  Imperialism  appeared  apologet- 
ically, and  the  international  point  of  view  was  just  be- 
ginning to  appear.  Labor  and  Capital  both  looked  close- 
ly toward  internationalism,  but  the  democracy  as  a  whole 
was  indififerent  and  unprepared. 

88  "  Fear  God  and  Take  Your  Own  Part"  (1916),  Message  to  Con- 
gress, Dec.,  1906;  Hudson  Maxim,  "Defenceless  America,"  1916;  R. 
Stockton,  "Peace  Insurance,"  1915;  R.  M.  Johnston,  "Arms  and  the 
Race,"  1915 ;  Emory  Upton,  "  Military  Policy  of  the  U.  S.,"  1907. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  POLITICAL  PARTY  AND  UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  American  demo- 
cratic development  is  the  party  system.^  "  There  is  a 
sense,"  says  a  distinguished  commentator,  "  in  which  our 
parties  may  be  said  to  have  been  our  real  body  politic."  ^ 
No  feature  of  American  politics  attracted  more  attention 
during  this  period  than  the  compact  organization  and  the 
widespread^ctivities  of  the  political  parties.  They  were 
a  unique  product  of  our  political  life  —  phenomena  that 
loomed  up  prominently  on  the  national  landscape  —  polit- 
ical formations  that  were  difficult  for  democracy  to  ex- 
plain. In  general  the  growth  of  the  party  followed  the 
broad  lines  of  the  times.  As  business  and  labor  devel- 
oped their  organizations,  so  the  party  developed  its 
machinery.  As  business  developed  the  corporation  and 
the  magnate,  and  as  labor  developed  the  union  and  the 
leader,  so  the  party  system  developed  its  machines  and  its 
boss.  As  business  developed  its  super-corporation  and 
labor  developed  the  super-union,  so  the  party  shaped  the 
super-machine. 

^H.  J.  Ford,  "The  Rise  and  Growth  of  American  Politics";  J.  A. 
Woodburn,  "  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems " ;  Jesse  Macy, 
"  Party  Organization  " ;  William  M.  Sloane,  "  Party  Government  in 
the  United  States";  P.  O.  Ray,  "Political  Parties  and  Practical 
Politics  " ;  Ostrogorski,  "  Democracy  and  the  Organization  of  Politi- 
cal Parties  " ;  James  Bryce,  "  The  American  Commonwealth." 

2.Woodrow  Wilson,  "Constitutional  Government,"  p.  218. 

269 


270  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Its  rich  resources  of  men  and  money,  the  perfection 
of  its  elaborate  mechanism,  the  far-reaching  character 
of  its  organization,  made  the  party  a  formidable  instru- 
ment and  a  powerful  political  factor,  aside  from  its  pri- 
mary purposes  and  ideals.  So  the  party  came  to  be  a 
part  of  the  government,  often  more  important  than  the 
nominal  rulers  themselves.  When  Senator  Root,  an  ex- 
cellent authority  on  this  subject,  said  that  for  many  years 
under  Senator  Piatt  the  real  government  of  New  York 
was  at  49  Broadway,  he  uttered  a  truth  of  more  than 
local  application.  In  every  section  of  the  country  and  at 
all  times  in  this  period  the  extra-legal  and  unofficial 
agency  known  as  the  party  to  a  very  large  extent  took  the 
place  of  the  official  agency  known  as  the  government. 
Designed  as  a  means  for  quicker  and  easier  formulation 
of  public  opinion,  the  party  in  many  cases  became  an 
end  in  itself  rather  than  a  means;  and  in  the  strength  of 
its  mechanism  often  forgot  the  purpose  of  its  existence. 

In  the  main  the  two-party  system  continued,  although 
there  were  many  minor  groups  which  sometimes  rivalled 
or  alarmed  the  majority  parties.  The  most  successful 
machine  or  boss  was  often  able  to  control  both  parties 
and  thus  to  create  a  single  "  bi-partisan  system  "  in  which 
party  hostilities  became  relatively  tame.  Thus  particu- 
larly in  local  affairs  the  bi-party  system  often  became  a 
practical  unity  of  command.  In  the  national  field,  the 
boss  and  the  machine  and  bi-partisanship  were  less  fully 
developed  in  their  organization  and  less  confident  in  their 
activities. 

One  of  the  most  conspicuous  features  of  the  early  part 
of  this  period  was  the  struggle  over  the  "  spoils  "  system. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  2/1 

and  the  political  ideas  developing  out  of  that  controversy. 
This  system  was  originated  in  the  Jacksonian  era.  In 
1820  the  preliminary  step  was  taken  in  the  passage  of  the 
famous  Crawford  law,  which  limited  the  term  of  most 
appointive  federal  officials  to  four  years.  In  President 
Jackson's  first  message  to  Congress  the  idea  that  public  of- 
fice should  be  used  as  a  party  reward  was  boldly  avowed. 
He  held,  first,  that  experience  is  not  very  important  for  a 
public  servant,  and,  secondly,  that  long  tenure  of  office  is 
actually  detrimental  to  good  public  service.  "  There  are 
perhaps  few  men,"  said  Jackson,  "  who  can  for  any  great 
length  of  time  enjoy  office  or  power  without  being  more  or 
less  under  the  influence  of  feelings  unfavorable  to  the  dis- 
charge of  their  public  duties."  The  Executive  also  in- 
formed the  Congress,  "  That  the  duties  of  all  public 
officials  are,  or  at  least  admit  of  being  made  so  plain  and 
simple  that  men  of  intelligence  may  readily  qualify  them- 
selves for  their  performance.  And  I  cannot  but  believe 
that  more  is  lost  by  long  continuance  in  office  than  is 
generally  to  be  gained  by  their  experience."  Such  was 
the  doctrine  of  rotation  in  office,  as  announced  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States  in  1829. 

The  spoils  theory  was  bitterly  opposed  by  Webster, 
Calhoun  and  others,  but  their  vigorous  and  eloquent  pro- 
tests were  in  vain.^  The  system  of  using  administrative 
positions  as  rewards  for  partisan  service  was  fully  and 
completely  established.     The  use  of  such  offices  to  build 

3  Webster  declared:  "The  existence  of  parties  in  popular  govern- 
ment is  not  to  be  avoided,  and  if  they  are  formed  on  constitutional 
questions,  or  in  regard  to  great  measures  of  public  policy,  and  do 
not  run  to  excessive  lengths,  it  may  be  admitted  that  on  the  whole 
they  do  no  great  harm.    But  the  patronage  of  office,  the  power  of 


272  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

up  a  party  became  an  accepted  principle  of  the  political 
code.  Unfortunately,  the  system  was  established  just 
before  the  time  when  the  work  of  the  government  began 
to  expand  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  the  number  of  official 
positions  to  increase  proportionately.  In  the  great  period 
of  expansion  and  development  following  the  War,  the 
original  spoils  system  had  extended  far  beyond  any 
bounds  intended  or  even  imagined  by  its  founders.  If 
the  political  leaders  in  the  '30's  who  entrenched  the  spoils 
idea  could  have  looked  beyond  the  simple  conditions  of 
their  day  and  foreseen  the  great  growth  of  cities,  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  functions  of  government,  the  increasingly 
technical  nature  of  public  employment,  they  might  have 
hesitated  to  place  the  administration  of  public  affairs  upon 
a  partisan  basis.  The  spoils  principle  spread  like  disease 
through  the  body  politic.  The  idea  that  public  office  is 
the  perquisite  of  the  dominant  party  was  easily  interpreted 
to  mean  that  all  the  powers  of  office  were  likewise  legiti- 
mate spoils  of  the  party  in  power.  The  spoilsmen's  eyes 
were  opened  to  the  dazzling  possibilities  of  political  con- 
trol as  a  means  of  securing  wealth  and  power.  The 
growth  of  cities  and  the  expansion  of  industry  offered 
one  of  the  most  fertile  fields  of  political  exploitation  ever 
spread  before  the  eyes  of  political  adventurers.  Fran- 
chises and  crime  in  cities,  taxes  in  counties  and  other 
local  governments,  legislation  and  public  institutions  in 
the  states,  customs,  excises,  public  lands,  tariff,  railroad 
and  corporation  legislation  in  the   federal  government : 

bestowing  place  and  emoluments,  create  parties  not  upon  any  prin- 
ciple or  upon  any  measure,  but  upon  the  single  ground  of  personal 
interest,"  Congressional  Debates,  Vol.  XI,  459. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  273 

with  public  works,  contracts  and  public  funds  in  city, 
country,  state  and  federal  government  alike  were  added 
to  the  spoils  which  at  first  had  included  only  the 
"  jobs." 

The  enormous  expenditure  of  the  Federal  Government 
during  the  Civil  War,  the  rise  of  the  public  utility  about 
the  mid-century,  the  utter  inadequacy  of  our  system  of 
taxation  under  the  new  urban  and  industrial  conditions, 
the  control  of  the  individual  states  over  commercial  and 
criminal  law  in  the  absence  of  a  national  code,  were  temp- 
tations to  which  the  spoilsmen  readily  succumbed.  So 
insidious  is  the  spoils  idea  that  it  spread  from  appointment 
to  office  to  favoritism  in  official  function,  and  from  favor- 
itism across  the  boundary  line  to  fraud  and  crime.  The 
expansion  of  the  public  service  came  at  a  time  when  the 
spoils  doctrine  had  just  been  firmly  fixed  in  the  political 
practice  of  the  American  party.  New  offices  became  ad- 
ditional assets  of  the  dominant  party,  and  the  total 
number  of  party  employes,  and  the  total  "  wage  fund  " 
at  the  disposal  of  the  party  were  enlarged.  This  unfor- 
tunate coincidence  of  the  establishment  of  the  spoils  sys- 
tem and  the  increase  of  political  positions  cannot  be  too 
strongly  emphasized.* 

In  the  generation  following  the  Civil  War,  a  new  idea 
appeared  in  the  field  and  contested  for  the  mastery  with 

*  Wm.  D.  Foulke,  "  Fighting  the  Spoilsmen " ;  Samuel  P.  Orth, 
"The  Boss  and  the  Machine,"  1919;  George  S.  Bernard,  "Civil 
Service  Reform  Versus  the  Spoils  System,"  1885 ;  L.  G.  Long,  "  Par- 
ties and  Patronage  in  the  U.  S." ;  E.  P.  Wheeler,  "  Sixty  Years  of 
American  Life,"  Chs.  XII,  XIII  on  Municipal  Reform;  E.  L.  God- 
kin,  "  Problems  of  Modern  Democracy,"  Ch.  4  on  Criminal  Politics, 
18^. 


274  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  well-intrenched  spoils  system. °  At  the  end  of  the 
period  the  newcomer  was  victorious  in  theory,  although 
by  no  means  supreme  in  practice.  The  new  idea  was 
commonly  called  by  the  unpromising  name  of  "  Civil 
Service  Reform."  Its  essential  principle  was  that  admin- 
istrative positions  should  be  filled  and  removals  made  on 
the  basis  of  fitness  for  public  service  rather  than  for  party 
service.  The  leader  in  this  movement  was  George  Wil- 
liam Curtis,  who  was  assisted  by  such  men  as  Dorman 
B,  Eaton,  E.  L.  Godkin,  Horace  White,  Carl  Schurz 
and  others.^  Their  theory  was  that  the  corruption  and 
inefficiency  then  evident  on  a  scandalous  scale  arose  from 
the  application  of  the  spoils  principle.  They  believed 
that  this  tendency  unchecked  would  be  ruinous  to  the 
public  service  and  that  democracy  could  not  succeed  in 
the  long  run  unless  it  could  obtain  and  hold  the  service 
of  competent  administrators.  It  was  not  difficult  for 
them  to  indicate  glaring  instances  of  waste  and  extrava- 
gance under  the  spoils  system  and  this  was  done  with 
great  clearness  and  persistence  over  a  long  period  of  time, 
in  the  face  of  public  apathy  and  bitter  party  hostility.'^ 
Little  by  little,  however,  both  public  opinion  and  party 
leaders  themselves  began  to  demand  action.  The  assass- 
ination of  President  Garfield  in  1881  by  a  disappointed 

'Dorman  B.  Eaton,  "Civil  Service  in  Great  Britain,"  1880;  F.  W. 
Whitridge,  "  The  Four  Years'  Term  or  Rotation  in  Office,"  1883. 

*  "  Orations  and  Addresses,"  Vol.  II ;  the  best  discussion  of  this 
general  movement  is  found  in  Carl  Fish,  "  Civil  Service  and  the 
Patronage,"  1903. 

"^  See  Jenckes,  Report,  1868,  40th  Congress,  2nd  Session,  II.  H.  R. 
47  —  an  impressive  220-page  document.  Of  special  interest  is  the 
questionnaire  on  p.  17. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  275 

office-seeker  was  a  tragic  lesson  which  was  not  without 
its  weight  in  obtaining  the  passage  of  the  Civil  Service 
Law  in  1883.  In  the  states  and  cities  similar  legislation 
reluctantly  followed,  as  well  as  supplementary  federal 
orders  and  acts.^  The  field  of  public  employment  is 
still  far  from  being  covered  by  the  merit  system,  but  pub- 
lic opinion  is  unquestionably  hostile  to  the  spoils  method 
and  theory,  however  tolerant  toward  frequent  lapses  in 
practice. 

By  no  one  was  the  case  so  effectively  stated  as  by 
Curtis,  who  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  fought  an  un- 
ceasing, unyielding  and  often  thankless  battle  for  the 
merit  system.  His  addresses  and  activities  are  an  im- 
pressive monument  of  his  life  and  work.  Curtis'  argu- 
ment was  that  the  oligarchy  known  as  the  "  machine  " 
usurped  the  power  of  the  people  and  placed  "  bosses  "  in 
power  in  place  of  the  true  party  "  leaders."  Instead  of 
men  who  led  "  by  molding  and  guiding  the  popular  intelli- 
gence, by  the  sympathy  of  common  conviction,  by  resist- 
less argument  and  burning  appeal,"  they  substituted  party 
managers  "  whose  opinions,  if  they  have  any,  upon  great 
public  questions,  they  cannot  or  do  not  express,  and  if 
they  could  express,  nobody  v^ould  care  to  hear ;  huge  con- 
tractors of  votes,  traders  and  hucksters  in  place  and 
pelf.  And  while  this  system  makes  personal  servility  the 
basis  of  political  success,  and  while  it  demands  instanta- 
neous and  unquestioning  party  allegiance,  it  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  betray  the  party  by  bargaining  vv^ith  the  enemy." 

8  Holcombe,  "  State  Government,"  p.  338.  This  long  struggle  may 
be  traced  in  the  publications  of  the  National  Civil  Service  Reform 
League,  particularly  in  "  Good  Government." 


276  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

For  this,  he  held,  there  are  two  remedies.  First,  that  of 
independency,  and  second,  that  of  removing  patronage 
from  the  control  of  the  machine. 

The  defense  of  the  old  spoils  system  was  not  expressed 
in  systematic  form,  although  not  without  strenuous  de- 
fenders. The  advocates  of  the  old  regime  attacked  the 
proposed  plan,  criticising  its  artificiality  and  mechanical 
tendencies,  pointing  out  that  adequate  appointments  are 
not  always  made  by  means  of  competitive  examinations ; 
declaring  its  rigidity  unsuitable  to  the  flexible  require- 
ments of  public  service.  It  was  also  contended  that  party 
service  is  legitimately  rewarded  by  public  position;  that 
the  burdensome  routine  work  of  the  party  must  be  carried 
on  continuously ;  that  volunteers  cannot  be  counted  upon ; 
that  funds  for  the  payment  of  party  workers  cannot  be 
readily  raised ;  and  hence  the  only  alternative  is  to  reward 
the  party  soldiers  with  public  employment. 

But  the  chief  popular  consideration  urged  in  defense 
of  the  spoils  system  was  the  appeal  to  the  fear  of  aristoc- 
racy, bureaucracy  or  monarchy.  The  cry  was  raised  that 
democracy  was  in  danger  of  overthrow,  if  the  proposed 
qualifications  for  office  were  permanently  set  up.  The 
most  dire  predictions  of  the  undemocratic  result  of  such 
a  new  principle  were  made  in  Congress  and  elsewhere, 
and  the  changes  were  rung  over  and  over  again  upon  the 
inevitable  monarchical  tendencies  of  such  a  system  as 
was  proposed.  Thus  Congressman  Woolbridge  declared 
that  the  civil  service  was  no  more  corrupt  than  business, 
and  maintained  that  the  new  system  was  fundamentally 
undemocratic  and  was  merely  borrowed  from  England. 
The  only  real  safety  device  was  that  the  "  stables  should 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  277 

be  occasionally  cleaned  "  by  a  change  of  parties.®  Typ- 
ical of  these  arguments  was  the  speech  of  Congressman 
Charles  H.  Grosvenor,  who  for  long  years  fought  to 
cripple  the  Civil  Service  Law  by  reducing  the  appropria- 
tion for  its  enforcement.^"  The  Congressman  contended 
that  the  new  system  created  a  special  class  apart  from  the 
common  people.  He  charged  that  the  "  civil  service 
trust "  was  the  greatest  and  most  dangerous  one  in  the 
country;  he  predicted  that  the  next  step  would  be  the 
establishment  of  a  general  system  of  civil  pensions;  he 
ridiculed  the  questions  asked  of  applicants  by  examiners 
and  singled  out  the  various  infelicities  in  the  practical 
operation  of  the  system. 

Doubtless  the  brilliant  Wendell  Phillips  reflected  a  cer- 
tain sentiment  when  he  declared  against  civil  service 
reform  in  his  Harvard  Phi  Beta  Kappa  address.^^  He 
stated  that  the  new  system  contravened  the  "  funda- 
mental plan  of  our  institutions  and  contemplates  a  coterie 
of  men  held  long  in  office  largely  independent  of  the 
people  —  a  miniature  aristocracy  filled  with  a  dangerous 
esprit  de  corps."  He  proposed  that  each  district  choose 
its  own  postmaster  and  custom  house  officer,  believing 
that  the  "  responsibility  of  choice  would  quicken  the  polit- 
ical interest  of  the  communities."  ^^ 

Notwithstanding  the  entrenched  position  of  the  spoils 
system  and  its  vigorous  defense  by  the  powerful  party 

9  39th  Cong.,  2nd  Sess.,  p.  1034. 

loSSth  Cong.,  1st  Sess.  Appendix,  pp.  419-45.  See  also  debates 
in  the  47th  Cong.,  2nd  Sess.  on  Civil  Service. 

11  Speeches,  Vol.  II,  p.  363,  note,  1871. 

12  The  Democratic  platform  of  1896  denounced  life  tenure  of  of- 
fice, and  indirectly  the  merit  system. 


278  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

machines,  both  the  principle  and  the  practice  were  grad- 
ually forced  back,  and  the  other  doctrine  took  their  place 
in  public  opinion,  in  democratic  philosophy  and  in  public 
administration.  The  democracy  concluded  that  the  prin- 
cipal argument  of  the  political  machine  regarding  the 
aristocratic  or  bureaucratic  tendencies  of  the  proposed 
plan  was  not  sound;  that  the  spoils  system,  whatever  its 
origin,  was  continued  for  the  purpose  of  serving  personal, 
factional  or  party  interest  before  the  primary  interests  of 
the  public  were  considered;  and  that  democracy  was  en- 
titled to  have  capable  public  servants  in  order  to  carry  out 
its  will.  In  the  long  contest  between  party  service  and 
public  service  as  a  basis  for  administration  the  victory 
rested  with  public  service. 

Another  striking  change  in  political  thought  was  seen 
in  the  tendency  to  regulate  and  recognize  legally  the 
political  organizations  which  began  as  voluntary  asso- 
ciations. At  the  outset  the  party  was  unknown  to  the 
law.  Little  by  little  party  processes  were  drawn  into  the 
circle  of  legislation  and  finally  many  important  phases  of 
party  procedure  were  regulated  by  law.  This  striking 
development  of  party  recognition  and  regulation  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  last  third  of  a  century. 

The  regulation  of  elections  began  at  an  early  date,  and 
at  first  included  such  measures  as  registration  and  some 
form  of  written  or  printed  ballots.  After  the  War  the 
number  of  registration  laws  was  increased,  especially  in 
the  cities  where  the  neighborhood  check  on  voting  was  not 
as  effective  as  in  the  rural  districts.  Later  the  whole 
process  of  elections  was  placed  under  minute  supervi- 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  279 

sion  by  the  Australian  ballot  system.^^  This  took  away 
from  the  parties  the  duty  of  furnishing  ballots  for  voters, 
provided  for  secret  voting,  and  set  up  elaborate  machinery 
to  prevent  intimidation,  bribery,  fraud,  and  other  irregu- 
larities at  elections.  At  the  same  time,  parties  were  fin- 
ally defined  and  recognized  in  the  law.  Numerous  objec- 
tions were  offered,  both  on  theoretical  and  practical 
grounds,  but  in  the  main  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  strict 
regulation  was  overwhelming.  Gov.  Hill  of  New  York, 
in  his  famous  veto  of  the  Australian  ballot  law,  in  1889, 
denounced  the  measure  "  as  a  disfranchisement  of  the 
people,  as  a  surrender  of  the  inherent  right  under  our  free 
institutions."  But  the  able  reply  of  Louis  F.  Post  de- 
molished these  objections.^^*  A  strong  factor  in  creating 
general  sentiment  was  also  John  H.  Wigmore's  **  The 
Australian  Ballot,"  published  in  1889.^^  The  constitu- 
tionality of  these  acts  was  challenged,  but  they  were  uni- 
formly sustained  by  the  courts  as  regulations  necessary  to 
protect  the  purity  of  the  ballot  and  the  freedom  of  elec- 
tions.^^ What  would  earlier  have  been  regarded  as  un- 
warranted interference  in  the  private  affairs  of  voluntary 
associations  was  accepted  by  the  courts  and  by  the  com- 
munity as  a  reasonable  regulation  in  defense  of  the  ma- 
chinery of  democracy. 

A  common  check  upon  the  representative  tendencies  of 

^3  E.  C.  Evans,  "  A  History  of  the  Australian  Ballot  System  in 
the  United  States." 

13a  "Election  Reform  (Pamphlet),"  1899. 

1*  See  also  "  Constitutionality  of  Australian  Ballot  Laws,"  Ameri- 
can Law  Review,  23,  p.  719. 

1'  Evans  op.  cit.    Chap.  6. 


28o  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  party  organization  was  refusal  to  support  the  party 
ticket.  The  Liberal  Republican  movement  of  the  '70's, 
and  the  Mugwump  movement  of  the  '8o's,  were  the  most 
conspicuous  early  forms  of  this  dissatisfaction.  The 
greatest  personality  in  this  field  was  Carl  Schurz,  whose 
dashing  independent  career  was  one  of  the  political  fea- 
tures of  his  day.^^ 

The  defense  of  independency  in  party  affairs  was 
strongly  presented  by  Lowell. ^'^  Parties,  he  thought, 
lacked  adequate  principles  of  action.  If,  he  said,  "  in  a 
free  country,  government  by  the  party  be  a  necessary  ex- 
pedient, it  is  also  a  necessary  evil,  and  evil  chiefly  in  this, 
that  it  enables  men,  nay,  even  forces  them  to  postpone 
interests  of  prime  import  and  consequence  to  secondary 
and  ephemeral,  often  to  personal  interests,  but  not  only 
so,  but  to  confound  one  for  the  other,"  If  you  ask  them, 
said  he,  "  Have  you  any  principles?  "  the  answer  would 
be  —  like  Parley  to  Captain  Standard  — "  Five  hundred." 
Yet  if  the  politicians  must  look  after  the  parties,  then 
there  must  be  somebody  to  look  after  the  politicians,  some- 
body to  ask  disagreeable  questions  and  to  utter  inevitable 
truths ;  somebody  to  make  sure  not  only  what  but  whom 
the  candidate  will  represent.  The  old  parties  cannot  be 
reformed  from  within,  therefore  there  should  be  "  a 
neutral  body  not  large  enough  to  form  a  party  by  itself, 
nay,  which  would  lose  its  power  for  good  if  it  attempted 
to  form  such  a  party,  and  yet  large  enough  to  moderate 
between  both."    Of  the  formation  of  such  a  group  he 

"  See,  the  "  Reminiscences "  of  Carl  Schurz. 
^^ James   Russell   Lowell,   "The   Independent   in   Politics,"   1881  ; 
"  Literary  and  Political  Addresses,"  Vol,  VI,  p.  190. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  281 

thought  he  read  the  signs  in  his  day,  and  he  looked  for- 
ward hopefully  to  its  ultimate  influence  on  practical  polit- 
ical affairs. 

The  nominating  processes  were  left  undisturbed  by  the 
government  for  nearly  one  hundred  years.  The  frequent 
occurrence,  however,  of  fraud,  corruption  and  violence  in 
the  selection  of  party  candidates  led  to  a  general  and  in- 
sistent demand  for  interference  by  the  State.  ^^  Serious 
discussion  of  the  need  of  party  reform  or  regulation  began 
in  the  '6o's  and  '70's.  McMillan,  in  his  "  Elective  Fran- 
chise," in  1880  advocated  the  direct  primary,  as  did  others 
following  him.^^  Beginning  with  the  California  and 
New  York  acts  of  1866,  the  regulations  covered  only  the 
most  flagrant  forms  of  fraud  and  force,  and  they  were 
usually  optional  in  character.  Later,  however,  they  be- 
came compulsory,  state-wide  and  comprehensive  in  their 
scope.  After  the  adoption  of  the  Australian  ballot  law, 
the  tendency  was  to  apply  to  the  nominating  process  all 
of  the  detailed  precautions  and  safeguards  provided  for 
the  conduct  of  an  election.  Overlapping  the  regulation 
of  the  election  of  delegates  to  conventions  came  the  de- 
mand for  the  direct  choice  of  candidates,  commonly 
known  as  the  direct  primary  movement.  Starting  simul- 
taneously with  the  regulated  convention  movement,  it 
made  little  headway  for  a  generation.  It  was  renewed 
and  revived,  however,  in  the  late  '90's,  at  which  time  the 
most  conspicuous  advocate  of  the  primary  reform  was 

18  Merriam,  "Primary  Elections"  (1909). 

1®  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  "  The  Independent  Movement  in  New  York," 
1880;  G.  W.  Lawton,  "The  American  Caucus  System,"  1885;  Albert 
Stickney,  "  Democratic  Government,"  1885. 


282  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Robert  M.  La  Follette,  who  made  a  powerful  presenta- 
tion of  the  evils  of  the  convention  plan  and  a  convincing 
appeal  for  the  new  system. ^'^  In  the  closing  years  of  the 
19th  century  and  in  the  first  decade  of  the  20th,  the  di- 
rect nominating  method  swept  like  wildfire  over  the  whole 
country,  until  at  the  end  of  this  period  it  was  generally 
recognized  as  the  accepted  method  of  selecting  state  and 
local  officials,  and  was  further  applied  to  Congressional 
elections  and  in  many  instances  to  Presidential  nomina- 
tions. At  the  close  of  this  period,  the  direct  primary  was 
supported  by  Hughes,  Roosevelt,  Wilson,  and  other  pow- 
erful party  leaders  throughout  the  country.^! 

This  revolution  of  the  attitude  of  the  public  toward 
political  party  organizations  was  brought  about  largely 
as  the  result  of  widespread  distrust  of  the  party  machine 
and  the  boss,  and  the  feeling  that  the  helplessness  of  the 
people  was  in  great  measure  due  to  the  intricacies  and 
complications  of  the  nominating  methods.  Additional 
impetus  was  given  to  the  popular  movement  by  the  be- 
lief that  the  party  machinery  itself  was  being  employed 
by  special  industrial  interests  to  promote  their  private 
welfare  rather  than  the  general  good  of  the  community. 
There  was  also  involved  in  the  movement  a  feeling  that 
the  people  should  participate  more  widely  in  the  choice 
of  their  officials,  and  that  the  old  nominating  methods 
interfered  with  popular  choice.^^     But  the  chief  factor 

20  "  The  Menace  of  the  Machine,"  Univ.  Chicago  Record,  1897. 

21  See  Proceedings  of  Conference  of  Governors  1910,  p.  117,  ff.  for 
extended  discussion. 

22  As  early  as  1880  Curtis  declared  that  of  60,000  Republicans  in 
New  York  City  50,000  had  no  voice  in  the  primaries.  Op.  cit.. 
Vol.  II,  p.  151. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  283 

after  all  was  the  prevailing  sentiment  that  the  party  gov- 
ernment had  somehow  become  unrepresentative,  and  that 
more  direct  control  over  its  machinery  was  necessary  in 
order  to  bring  it  back  to  its  original  purposes. 

A  vigorous  protest  was  made  against  this  movement, 
but  in  the  main  the  arguments  were  summarily  over- 
ridden.^^ It  was  emphatically  asserted  by  party  man- 
agers that  the  direct  primary  would  disrupt  the  party 
and  put  an  end  to  the  party  system ;  that  it  would  result 
in  increased  expenditures  and  indifferent  results;  that  it 
would  impose  still  heavier  burdens  upon  the  electorate; 
that  it  would  destroy  the  essential  elements  of  compromise 
and  concession  appearing  in  ordinary  political  conven- 
tions; that  an  inferior  class  of  candidates  would  be 
named;  and  that  it  involved  fundamentally  an  imprac- 
ticable and  undesirable  extension  of  the  power  of  the 
individual  voter. 

Mr.  Ford  believed  that  the  direct  primary  would  de- 
crease the  degree  of  popular  control.  "  Its  pretence  of 
giving  power  to  the  people  is  a  mockery,"  he  declared. 
The  new  method  will  not  in  any  effective  way  alter  the 
political  system  under  which  bosses  and  machines  inev- 
itably control.  Among  the  effects  of  the  direct  primary 
are  "  graft,  irresponsibility,  and  a  tendency  toward  och- 

28  See  W.  H.  Taf  t,  "  Popular  Government,"  Chap.  V. ;  H.  J.  Ford, 
"  The  Direct  Primary "  in  North  American  Review,  Vol.  190,  p.  i 
(1909)  ;  Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  appointed  to  investigate  primary  election 
laws  of  this  and  other  states,  1910;  Report  of  Connecticut  Commis- 
sion on  laws  relating  to  direct  primaries  and  corrupt  practices  at 
elections,  1907;  National  Conference  on  practical  reform  of  primary 
elections,  N.  Y.,  1898;  C.  E.  Fanning,  Selected  Articles  on  Direct 
Primaries,  4th  Ed.,  1918. 


284  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

locracy."  I  have  yet  to  find  an  instance,"  said  he,  "  in 
which  the  direct  primary  has  actually  tended  to  promote 
good  government,  and  it  is  only  by  some  dire  confusion 
of  thought  that  good  men  can  advocate  such  a  pernicious 
nostrum." 

In  the  field  of  public  regulation  there  was  included  not 
only  party  legislation  but  also  party  administration,  not 
only  the  nominations  made  by  the  party,  but  the  party 
organization  and  management.^*  Elaborate  provisions 
were  made  covering  the  election  and  powers  of  party  of- 
ficials and  committees,  including  their  number  and  terms 
and  the  definition  of  their  rights  and  duties,  often  in 
some  detail.  The  methods  of  choosing  the  local  State 
and  national  committeemen  were  fixed  by  statute,  and 
indeed,  the  whole  organization  was  legalized  and  regu- 
lated as  if  it  were  a  part  of  the  government.  This  move- 
ment rested  upon  the  same  fundamental  conviction  that 
in  the  absence  of  well-defined  rules  and  regulations  the 
party  machine  and  boss  were  not  sufficiently  responsive 
to  the  will  of  the  party  and  that  by  the  agency  of  legal 
regulation  they  might  be  rendered  more  amenable  to  mass 
control. 

In  large  cities  especially  the  party  organization  had 
sometimes  become  an  institution  similar  to  a  private  club, 
and  entrance  to  it  depended  on  the  consent  of  those  in 
authority.  Black-balling,  blue-penciling,  and  black-list- 
ing were  practices  not  infrequently  encountered.  "  Slug- 
gers "  and  "  bouncers  "  were  not  uncommon  in  party 
meetings.     Much  more  alarming  was  the  general  lack  of 

2*  See  Jesse  Macy,  "  Party  Organization  " ;  Merriam,  "  State  Cen- 
tral Committees,"  in  P.  S.  Q.,  19,  224. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  285 

information  as  to  when,  where  and  how  the  processes  of 
party  government  were  carried  on,  and  how  to  take  ef- 
fective part  in  them.  It  was  in  the  hope  of  democratiz- 
ing this  process  that  the  aid  of  the  law  was  invoked  and 
that  the  great  voluntary  associations  in  the  shape  of  par- 
ties were  subjected  to  minute  regulations. 

Yet  these  measures  did  not  pass  without  challenge.  On 
the  contrary  they  aroused  the  bitterest  opposition  from 
the  old  system.  On  the  legal  side,  a  determined  but  hope- 
less protest  was  made  against  regulation  of  party  affairs 
by  law.  The  "  natural  rights  of  parties,"  were  strongly 
urged.  To  sustain  legislation  regulating  the  business  of 
political  parties,  it  was  said,  would  "  stretch  the  arm  of 
the  criminal  law  to  an  unwarranted  extent  over  the  citi- 
zen, in  derogation  of  the  constitutional  right  of  citizens 
to  assemble  for  their  common  good."  ^^  Said  the  ap- 
pellants in  one  case :  "  What  would  your  honor  think  of 
an  act  of  the  Legislature  which  undertook  to  provide  for 
and  regulate  the  election  of  the  officers  of  a  religious 
denomination  in  the  State?"  In  a  notable  dissenting 
opinion.  Justice  Cullen,  of  New  York,  said :  "  The  right 
of  the  electors  to  organize  and  associate  themselves  for 
the  purpose  of  choosing  public  officers,  is  as  absolute  and 
beyond  legislative  control  as  their  right  to  associate  for 
the  purpose  of  business  or  social  intercourse  or  recrea- 
tion." 

In  spite  of  these  arguments  and  protests,  the  people, 

the  legislatures  and  the  courts  took  a  different  view.     The 

controlling  theory  was  that  the  affairs  of  political  parties 

are  matters  of  fundamental  concern,  and  that  their  form 

25  Merriam  op.  cit.,  Ch.  6. 


286  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

and  method  may  be  regulated  whenever  the  public  in- 
terest requires.  The  courts  held  in  express  terms  that 
the  political  party  under  our  conditions  has  practically 
become  an  integral  part  of  the  government,  and  that  its 
due  regulation  is  as  much  a  matter  of  public  policy  as  the 
ordering  of  any  other  part  of  the  framework  of  the  body 
politic. 

The  strong  appeal  for  the  liberty  of  association  made 
by  the  opponents  to  primary  regulation  was  overruled, 
and  the  courts  held  in  almost  unbroken  series  of  decisions 
that  the  regulation  of  the  primary  process  was  entirely 
within  the  scope  of  legislative  authority.  In  some  in- 
stances the  courts  connected  the  right  of  primary  regu- 
lation with  the  regulation  of  the  ballot  provided  under 
the  Australian  ballot  law.  In  other  cases,  however,  this 
narrow  and  technical  ground  was  abandoned  and  the 
court  placed  the  right  to  regulate  squarely  upon  the 
broad  principle  of  public  interest  in  the  political  party 
as  an  integral  part  of  the  government. 

Not  only  was  this  true,  but  the  courts  sustained  the 
most  sweeping  legislation  regulating  the  organization 
of  the  political  party,  determining  the  framework  of  its 
committees,  their  membership,  terms,  modes  of  election 
and  duties.  This  field  had  hitherto  been  regarded  as  en- 
tirely within  the  discretion  of  the  political  party,  but  un- 
der the  new  conditions  was  included  within  the  range  of 
primary  laws.  This  action  was  sustained  by  the  courts  in 
the  broadest  terms  when  the  question  was  brought  before 
them  for  adjudication.^^ 

26  See  Goodnow,  "  Politics  and  Administration,"  Ch.  g.    A  notable 
case  was  People  v.  Dem.  General  Committee,  58  N.  E.  124. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  287 

Beginning  in  1890,  the  idea  that  party  activity  should 
be  regulated  in  the  interest  of  the  democracy  was  fur- 
ther expressed  in  legislation.  In  various  States  "  corrupt 
practices  "  acts  were  passed.^'  At  first  these  laws  were 
practically  ignored,  but  after  the  election  of  1904  the 
movement  was  revived  and  additional  steps  were  taken 
both  by  the  State  and  by  the  national  government.  The 
Federal  law  of  1907  paved  the  way  and  that  of  191 1  was 
of  special  importance.  The  purpose  of  these  regulations 
was  to  provide  for  publicity  in  regard  to  campaign  re- 
ceipts and  expenditures,  to  forbid  certain  types  of  ex- 
penditure altogether,  and  in  many  cases  to  impose  a  limit 
on  the  amount  of  expenditure  incurred.  In  some  in- 
stances attempts  were  made  to  provide  for  the  payment 
of  part  of  the  expense  of  elections  by  the  public,  and  in 
the  case  of  Colorado,  in  1909,  by  an  outright  appro- 
priation of  State  funds.^*  These  laws  were  copied  at 
the  beginning  from  the  English  act  of  1883  regarding 
the  use  of  money  in  elections,  although  the  later  Ameri- 
can laws  were  much  different  from  the  English  orig- 
inals.^® The  basis  of  these  acts  was  the  general  belief 
that  parties  and  candidates  were  being  controlled  or  un- 
duly influenced  by  corrupt  use  of  money,  whether  in  the 

2'^  G.  L.  Fox,  "  Corrupt  Practices  and  Election  Laws  in  the  U.  S. 
since  1890";  Proceedings  Am.  Pol.  Sc.  Assn.  (1905);  Holcombe, 
"State  Government,"  p.  221  et  scq.;  H.  J.  Ford,  op.  cit.,  Chap.  24; 
Henry  J.  Peterson,  "  Corrupt  Practices  Legislation  in  Iowa." 

28  See  Message  of  President  Roosevelt,  Dec.  3,  1907;  Proceedings 
of  Conference  of  Governors,  191 3;  Gov.  Baldwin's  paper  on  State 
Assumption  of  Nomination  and  Election  Expenses,  p.  137,  and  dis- 
cussion thereon. 

29  E.  A.  Jelf,  "  Corrupt  and  Illegal  Practices  Prevention  Acts." 


288  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

hands  of  individuals  or  of  corporations.^"  Defects  in 
the  scope  of  these  laws  and  great  gaps  in  the  machinery 
for  enforcement,  as  well  as  inherent  difficulties  in  reach- 
ing the  root  of  this  situation  by  law,  greatly  minimized 
their  practical  effect.  Yet  they  served  to  indicate  clearly 
the  advancing  line  of  public  control  over  party  activities 
and  the  general  anxiety  to  protect  the  democratic  proc- 
esses of  political  life  by  publicity  of  action  and  by  pro- 
hibition of  notorious  abuses.'^ 

The  remarkable  development  of  the  machine  and  the 
boss,  and  the  workings  and  significance  of  the  party  sys- 
tem stimulated  a  considerable  current  of  political  specu- 
lation during  this  period.  Various  attempts  were  made 
to  interpret  and  explain  the  meaning  of  the  party  system 
in  American  political  life,  and  to  make  clear  its  relations 
to  democracy.  At  first  the  surprising  developments  were 
interpreted  in  terms  of  the  moral  obliquity  of  the  boss 
and  the  machine,  accompanied  by  appeals  to  the  criminal 
law  and  the  conscience  of  the  culprits;  or  in  terms  of 
the  political  indifference  of  the  voter,  accompanied  by  ex- 
hortations designed  to  stimulate  the  lagging  political  in- 
terest and  activity  of  the  citizen.  Often  the  party  evils 
were  charged  to  the  urban  communities,  to  the  immigrant 
peoples,  or  to  almost  any  new  feature  in  social  life. 
But  in  time  the  theories  of  the  party  were  more  and 
more  fundamental  in  their  analysis,  and  constantly  tended 
to  explain  the  party  in  other  than  personal  terms. 

•<*  See  Ivin's  "  Machine  Politics  and  Money  in  Elections  in  New 
York  City,"  1887. 

'1  G.  W.  Birge,  "  The  Free  Pass  and  Bribery  System,"  1905.  Hud- 
son C.  Tanner,  "  The  Lobby  and  Public  Men,"  1888. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  289 

There  first  appeared  an  interpretation  attributing  these 
new  and  unwelcome  political  phenomena  to  defects  in 
the  election  machinery,  making  democratic  and  constitu- 
tional processes  in  the  party  difficult  if  not  impossible. 
This  culminated  in  demands  for  political  "  reforms  "  of 
various  kinds,  such  as  registration  laws,  the  Australian 
ballot,  and  the  primary  laws  in  their  various  forms. 
There  was  also  an  interpretation  in  terms  of  the  struc- 
ture of  the  government,  finding  the  clue  to  the  situation 
in  the  decentralization  of  the  government,  and  the  con- 
sequent development  of  the  political  party  as  a  necessary 
co-ordinating  power.  There  was  a  further  interpreta- 
tion in  terms  of  social  forces  finding  the  explanation 
of  the  party  in  the  inter-relation  between  business  and 
politics ;  or  in  the  inter-relation  between  classes. 

On  the  whole,  however,  the  scientific  study  of  political 
parties  left  much  to  be  desired,  in  practical  description, 
analysis  and  interpretation.  It  was  some  time  after 
the  machine  and  the  boss  had  become  active  that  any 
careful  attempt  was  made  to  survey  and  appraise  the 
function  of  the  political  party  in  a  democracy.*^  Like  the 
corporations  in  the  industrial  world,  the  "  machines  "  in 
the  political  world  were  forms  of  organization  whose 
movements  were  wholly  bewildering  to  the  community 
in  general.  The  purpose  and  scope  of  reasonable  or- 
ganizations in  both  fields,  their  historical  development, 
their  social  causes,  consequences,  and  significance  were 

*2  Compare  Robert  Michels,  "Political  Parties"  (translated); 
Ratzenhofer,  "  Wesen  und  Zweck  der  Politik,"  discussed  in  A.  W. 
Small's,  "  General  Sociology,"  Ch.  22,  illustrating  group  struggle  in 
its  party  aspects ;  Graham  Wallas,  "  Human  Nature  in  Politics." 


290  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

slowly  realized.  De  Tocqueville  was  the  first  careful 
student  of  America's  parties  and  politics,  and  he  had  no 
successor  until  James  Bryce  wrote  his  "  American  Com- 
monwealth "  in  1888.  This  was  an  epochmaking  study 
and  was  followed  (1902)  by  the  elaborate  work  of  Mosei 
Ostrogorski,  of  Polish  Jewish-Russian  origin,  on  "  De- 
mocracy and  the  Organization  of  Political  Parties."  It 
was  only  in  the  twentieth  century  that  studies  like  those 
of  Lowell,  Macy,  Wilson,  Woodburn,  Goodnow,  Ford, 
Brooks,  Ray  and  others  began  to  stir  the  soil  of  the  party 
field. 

Roughly  speaking,  it  may  be  said  that  during  the  early 
part  of  this  period  the  first  named  explanations  in  per- 
sonal terms  were  the  more  common,  while  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  period  the  tendency  was  to  place  greater 
emphasis  upon  the  structural  and  the  social  elements  in 
the  situation.  As  the  analysis  of  the  different  factors 
became  sharper,  the  thoughtful  observer  was  more  and 
more  inclined  to  seek  a  clue  in  the  deeper  forces  of  indus- 
trial and  social  life,  and  in  the  fundamental  features  of 
the  structure  of  government. 

What  was  commonly  called  party  "  reform  "  may  be 
said  to  have  covered  the  following  stages:  There  was, 
first,  reaction  against  graft,  bribery,  "  boodle,"  the  pros- 
titution of  the  public  service  to  spoilsmen,  the  incredible 
activities  of  criminal  politics  which  scarcely  found  the- 
oretical defence  and  which  could  not  be  openly  supported 
even  by  their  most  favored  beneficiaries.  Then  there 
was  a  reaction  against  the  evidently  imperfect  forms  and 
methods  of  ascertaining  the  public  will  in  primaries  and 
elections.     Then  there  came  a  movement  against  decen- 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  291 

tralization  in  government  as  the  cause  of  governmental 
corruption  and  inefficiency.  This  was  expressed  in  the  de- 
mand for  the  short  ballot,  for  "  conspicuous  responsibil- 
ity "  and  for  a  general  tightening  of  the  loose  screws  in 
the  machinery  of  the  government.  And  finally,  there 
came  a  movement  based  on  the  theory  that  the  present 
party  situation  is  the  outcome  of  an  alliance  between  cer- 
tain industrial  and  political  forces  —  between  the  cen- 
tralized power  of  the  "  trust "  on  the  one  hand  and  of 
the  "  machine  "  upon  the  other.  In  this  phase  of  the 
movement  there  was  developed  a  program  of  further 
democratization  of  the  government  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  development  of  a  broader  program  of  govern- 
mental activity  on  the  other. 

One  of  the  most  thoughtful  interpretations  of  the  party 
system  was  that  of  Goodnow,  a  tireless  student  of  pub- 
lic administration,  who  explained  the  position  of  the 
party  in  terms  of  the  structure  of  the  government. '' 
Because  of  the  three- fold  separation  of  powers  and  the 
general  decentralization  of  the  organs  of  political  au- 
thority, says  Goodnow,  it  has  not  been  possible  for  any 
central  controlling  agency  to  develop  within  the  govern- 
ment itself.  But  some  central  authority  is  necessary. 
Hence,  the  political  party  has  assumed  the  function  of  co- 
ordinating the  several  powers  and  duties  of  the  regular 
government  and  of  acting  as  the  responsible  agent.  "  It 
has  been  impossible,"  says  Goodnow,  "  for  the  necessary 
control  of  politics  over  administration  to  develop  within 
the  formal  governmental  system  on  account  of  the  inde- 
pendent position  assigned  by  constitutional  law  to  execu- 

83  "  Politics  and  Administration." 


292  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

tive  and  administrative  officers.  The  control  has  there- 
fore developed  in  the  party  system."  An  extra  govern- 
mental, superior  or  controlling  agency  has  been  created 
in  the  form  of  the  political  party.  For  this  reason  the 
party  in  our  system  of  government  is  more  powerfully 
developed  than  elsewhere.  In  short,  the  party  is  in  a 
sense  the  government.  On  this  basis  he  explains  the 
permanence  of  the  party,  the  intense  party  loyalty  de- 
veloped, the  payment  for  party  work  out  of  the  public 
treasury  and  the  mingling  of  national  parties  in  local 
affairs.  By  the  same  logic,  he  holds  on  the  other  hand 
that  the  institution  of  a  system  in  which  responsibility 
and  power  are  sharply  defined  within  the  government 
would  tend  to  relieve  the  party  of  many  of  its  burdens 
and  eliminate  some  of  the  worst  abuses  found  in  the 
present  system.  Organization  of  political  leadership  and 
responsibility  inside  the  government  will  tend,  he  be- 
lieves, to  reduce  the  necessity  for  a  highly  organized 
leadership  outside  the  formal  government. 

"  The  political  system,"  said  Wilson,  "  is  a  system  of 
checks  and  balances,  embodied  in  the  Constitution." 
"  The  Whig  dynamics,"  he  termed  it.^^  We  have  under- 
taken the  task  of  "  framing  the  functions  of  government 
by  outside  parties."  And  this  is  the  explanation  of  the 
modern  party.  By  this  process  a  degree  of  political  unity 
and  coherence  has  been  obtained.  The  party  has  fur- 
thermore been  a  very  useful  nationalizing  influence,  cre- 
ating national  opinions  and  judgments  as  over  against 

3*  "  Constitutional  Government,"  Chap.  8  on  Party  Government  in 
the  United  States ;  Croly,  "  Progressive  Democracy,"  Ch.  i6,  on  Ex- 
ecutive vs.  Partisan  Responsibility. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  293 

local  interests  and  preferences.  But  as  the  work  of  na- 
tionalization is  more  nearly  perfected,  changes  become 
necessary.  The  thing  that  has  served  us  so  well  might 
now  master  us  if  we  left  it  irresponsible.  The  question 
is,  therefore,  whether  we  are  ready  to  make  our  legisla- 
tures and  executives  our  real  bodies  politic  instead  of  the 
parties. 

Roosevelt  assailed  the  spoils  system  and  the  indiflfer- 
ence  of  good  citizens;  and,  notably  in  the  campaign  of 
19 12,  depicted  the  "  Invisible  Government,"  composed  of 
the  party  machines  and  special  privilege.  Roosevelt  dis- 
tinguished between  the  boss  and  the  leader  in  this  way: 
A  leader  leads  the  people;  a  boss  drives  the  people. 
The  leader  gets  his  hold  by  open  appeal  to  the  reason  and 
conscience  of  his  followers;  the  boss  keeps  his  hold  by 
manipulation,  by  intrigue,  by  secret  and  furtive  appeals 
to  many  phases  of  self-interest,  and  sometimes  to  every 
base  phase  of  self-interest.  Strong  and  genuine  party 
leadership  is  needed  to  replace  the  leadership  of  the  boss 
working  through  the  spoils  system  for  special  interests.^' 

Croly  ^®  discussed  the  party  in  terms  of  governmental 
structure,  although  with  more  attention  to  social  and 
economic  forces  than  in  the  case  of  Goodnow.  The  party 
system,  reasoned  Croly,  endeavors  to  do  for  the  people 
what  they  should  do  themselves.  "  It  seeks  to  interpose 
two  authoritative  partisan  organizations  between  the  peo- 
ple and  their  government.  ...  It  demands  and  obtains 
for  a  party  an  amount  of  loyal  service  and  personal 
sacrifice  which  a  public-spirited  democrat  should  lavish 
only  on  the  state."  The  paradox  of  our  political  life  is 
•*  Autobiography,  p.  164.  so  Qp^  ^it. 


294  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

that  the  individual  can  be  effective  only  as  a  member  of 
a  party,  while  within  the  party  he  must  make  larger  sacri- 
fices than  he  should  ever  be  called  upon  to  offer.  The 
organization  of  executive  leadership  within  the  govern- 
ment will  help  to  solve  this  problem,  but  it  cannot  be  ex- 
pected to  go  all  the  way.  If  established,  it  must  be  ac- 
companied by  the  executive  initiative  and  the  recall  in  or- 
der that  the  power  of  the  executive  may  be  genuine  and 
that  popular  control  over  the  leader  may  be  really  ef- 
fective. 

Senator  Root  expressed  the  opinion  that  we  have  cre- 
ated double  governments.  The  real  governing  power  is 
without  legal  responsibility  and  is  practically  free  from 
statutory  and  legal  restrictions,^"^  "  What  is,"  he  asks, 
"  the  government  of  this  state?  The  government  of  the 
constitution?     Oh,  no;  not  half  the  time,  nor  half  way." 

"  For  I  don't  remember  how  many  years  Mr.  Conkling 
was  the  supreme  ruler  in  this  State ;  the  governor  did  not 
count;  the  legislatures  did  not  count;  comptrollers  and 
secretaries  of  state  and  what  not  did  not  count.  It  was 
what  Mr.  Conkling  said ;  and  in  a  great  outburst  of  public 
rage  he  was  pulled  down.  Then  Mr.  Piatt  ruled  the 
State;  for  nigh  upon  twenty  years  he  ruled  it.  And  the 
capitol  was  not  here,  it  was  at  49  Broadway." 

"  The  ruler  of  the  State  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
forty  years  of  my  acquaintance  with  the  state  govern- 
ment, has  not  been  any  man  authorized  by  the  constitu- 
tion or  by  the  law  ;  and,  sir,  there  is  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  State  a  deep  and  sullen  and  long 

3^ "  Addresses,"   p.   20.    "  The   Function   of    Political    Parties   as 
Agencies  of  the  Governing  Body,"  p.  191-4. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  295 

continued  resentment  at  being  governed  thus  by  men  not 
of  the  people's  choosing." 

"  That  system,"  he  continued,  "  finds  its  opportunity 
in  the  division  of  powers,  in  a  six  headed  executive." 

Senator  Depew  once  said :  "  The  Capitol  has  been 
this  corner  ('The  Amen  Corner'  in  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Hotel ) .  I  know  Governors  who  thought  they  did  things 
from  the  Executive  Chamber,  but  they  were  done  from 
the  Amen  Corner.  I  know  Speakers  who  are  looked  to 
for  the  make-up  of  committees  from  the  lower  house 
of  the  Legislature.  They  said  they  would  consult  the 
members  of  their  families  in  the  rural  regions,  and  I 
have  found  that  the  families  they  consulted  were  Senator 
Piatt  in  the  Amen  Comer."  ^^ 

Another  group  of  interpretations  was  made  in  terms 
of  political  and  industrial  relationship.  Conspicuous 
here  were  LaFollette,  Bryan,  Wilson,  Roosevelt,  and 
writers  of  the  type  of  Stefifens,'^  Veblen,^*^  Chapman,*^ 
Croly.  This  doctrine  attributed  the  power  of  the  ma- 
chine and  the  boss  in  the  cities  and  elsewhere,  to  an  al- 
liance between  the  party  ruler  and  those  who  sought  or 
held  industrial  privileges  of  various  kinds.  Concen- 
trated industrial  power  allying  itself  with  concentrated 
political  power  in  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance,  was 
seen  as  the  fundamental  cause  of  this  new  development  in 

38  "  Autobiography  of  Thomas  C.  Piatt,"  494.  See  also  New  York 
Bureau  of  Municipal  Research,  "  The  Constitution  and  Government 
of  New  York.    An  Appraisal,"  1915. 

3» "Struggle  for  Self  Government,"  1906;  "The  Shame  of  the 
Cities." 

*°  "  Theory  of  Business  Enterprise,"  1904. 

*i  "  Causes  and  Consequences,"  1899 ;  "  Practical  Agitation,"  1907. 


296  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

democracy.  This  was  variously  characterized  as  the  al- 
liance of  big  business  with  big  politics,  as  the  "  invisible 
government,"  and  as  the  government  of  the  political 
democracy  by  an  industrial  aristocracy. 

As  railroad,  insurance,  and  local  public  utility  investi- 
gations made  more  and  more  evident  the  alliance  of  poli- 
tics and  industrial  privilege,  the  public  analysis  of  the  sit- 
uation more  and  more  inclined  toward  an  examination  of 
the  underlying  causes  of  the  distressing  symptoms  of 
political  disorder.  The  "  Invisible  Government "  in 
which  the  twin  powers  are  the  political  boss  and  the  in- 
dustrial magnate  popularly  summarized  a  very  general 
theory  of  party  pathology.  The  evils  of  the  industrial 
system  and  the  evils  of  the  political  situation  were  linked 
together,  as  joint  product  and  joint  cause,  with  joint  need 
of  modification  and  reorganization. 

It  is  not  to  be  concluded,  however,  that  the  connection 
between  business  and  politics  dated  from  the  20th  century. 
In  the  campaigns  of  the  '70's,  '8o's  and  '90's  these  rela- 
tions were  pointed  out  by  the  various  insurgent  groups 
and  parties,  and  constantly  throughout  the  great  strug- 
gle for  railway  control, ^^  in  the  anti-monopoly  move- 
ment, and  in  the  free  silver  controversy.  The  early  ut- 
terances of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  of  Wendell  Phillips, 
of  Sen.  Cushman  K.  Davis,  indicated  in  unmistakable 
language  their  appreciation  of  the  relation  between  po- 
litical corruption  and  industrial  exploitation.  It  was  a 
Congressional  committee  that  reported  in  1873 :  "  It  is 
notorious  in  many  state  legislatures  that  these  influences 
(gigantic  corporations)  are  often  controlling,  so  that  in 

*2  Haynes,  "  Third  Party  Movements." 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  '  297 

effect  they  become  the  ruling  power  of  the  State."  Yet 
as  the  corporation  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  machine  on 
the  other  were  more  fully  developed,  the  frequent  in- 
stitutional combination  between  them  was  more  and  more 
perfected  and  was  more  widely  noted,  and  their  inter- 
relationship as  a  basis  of  a  party  theory  more  widely  ac- 
cepted. 

Significant  interpretations  of  the  local  boss  system  were 
made  by  Steffens  among  others.  Conceding  certain  mer- 
its in  the  institution,  he  sharply  characterized  the  system 
however  as  "  an  organization  of  social  treason,"  and  the 
boss  as  "  the  chief  traitor."  ^^  He  uses  his  qualities  of 
natural  leadership  to  betray  his  people  into  the  hands 
of  the  special  selfish  interests  with  whom  he  is  allied. 
Analyzing  the  situation  in  "  The  Dying  Boss  "  he  says : 
"  They  have  power,  the  people  have,  and  they  have  needs, 
great  common  needs,  and  they  have  great  common  wealth. 
.  .  .  And  having  thus  organized  and  taken  over  all  this 
power  and  property  and  this  beautiful  faith,  you  do  not 
protect  their  rights  and  their  property.  .  .  .  You  sell 
them  out.  .  .  .  They  buy  the  people's  leaders,  and  the  dis- 
loyalty of  the  political  boss  is  the  key  to  the  whole 
thing."  -•* 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  socialist,  the  root  of  the 

*^  Lincoln  Steffens,  "  The  Dying  Boss,"  McClure's  Magazine,  43, 
79  (1914).  Apology  for  Graft,  Am.  Mag.,  66,120,  1908.  Henry 
George,  Jr.,  "  The  Menace  of  Privilege  " ;  Jane  Addams,  "  Why  the 
Ward  Boss  Rules,"  Outlook,  Apr.  2,  '98,  also  "  Democracy  and 
Social  Ethics  " ;  M.  K.  Simkhowitch,  "  The  City  Worker's  World  in 
America,"  19 17,  Ch.  9.  Grace  Abbot,  "  The  Immigrant  and  the  Com- 
munity," 1917,  Ch.  ID.     "  The  Immigrant  in  Politics." 

**  Lincoln  Steffens,  McClure's  Magazine,  43,  79  (1914). 


298  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

boss  system  is  found  in  the  capitalistic  organization  of 
industrial  society.  To  him  the  spoils  system  is  merely 
the  means  by  which  the  small  group  of  capitalists  control 
the  political  as  well  as  the  industrial  activities  of  the  mass 
of  the  people;  and  work  their  will  while  keeping  within 
the  forms  of  democratic  government.  That  this  mock- 
ery must  continue  is  inevitable  until  the  capitalistic  sys- 
tem is  destroyed  and  a  socialistic  organization  of  industry 
is  substituted  in  its  place, ^^  is  his  contention. 

The  interpretation  of  the  party  system  as  a  unifying 
and  educational  agency  was  made  by  Macy  and  others.'*'^ 
They  dwelt  upon  the  value  of  political  organization  as  an 
instrument  for  breaking  down  the  barriers  of  section, 
as  well  as  of  religion  and  race,  and  creating  a  common 
Americanism  in  a  way  attempted  or  accomplished  by  no 
other  agency.  They  did  not  contend  that  the  party  had 
been  completely  successful  in  this  movement,  but  indi- 
cated the  great  practical  value  of  the  service  rendered  in 
the  assimilating  process.*^ 

Another  view  was  taken  by  McLaughlin,^*  who  held 
that  the  political  party  is  chiefly  an  agency  for  electing 
men  to  office.  "  We  should  not  be  far  wrong,"  says 
McLaughlin,  "if  we  should  declare  that  there  are  two  or 

*5  Ghent,  W.  J.  "  Our  Benevolent  Feudalism  " ;  Compare  Michels, 
"  Political  Parties." 

*'  Jesse  Macy,  "  Political  Parties,"  also  "  Party  Organization  and 
Machinery  " ;  W.  M.  Sloan,  "  Party  Government." 

*''  Significant  studies  are  those  of  the  British  thinkers :  David  G. 
Ritchie,  "  Studies  in  Political  and  Social  Ethics,"  pp.  66-107 ;  James 
Bryce,  "  Hindrances  to  Good  Citizenship." 

*8  Andrew  C.  McLaughlin,  "  The  Courts,  the  Constitutions  and 
Parties,"  Chs.  II  and  III. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  299 

more  great  armies  in  existence,  each  controlled  by  a  select 
few  whose  main  ambition  is  victory,  and  the  objects 
of  the  people's  desire  are  attained  by  the  organizations 
accepting  a  principle  as  a  means  of  winning  success." 
The  element  of  the  issue  or  principle  in  party  organiza- 
tion in  existence  he  reduces  to  a  minimum.  Its  activi- 
ties rest  "  largely  on  tradition,  on  party  name,  on  per- 
sonal pride,  and  sometimes  on  a  dominating  principle." 
Its  chief  function  is  to  put  men  into  office,  and  this  is 
the  chief  duty  of  its  leaders.  A  principle  will  be  aban- 
doned for  a  victory.  He  agreed  also  that  the  party  serves 
as  a  coordinating  agency. 

Likewise  Lowell  regards  the  parties  primarily  as 
*'  brokers "  of  ideas,  policies,  candidates.  This  is  pri- 
marily an  age  of  advertising  and  brokerage,  and  the 
party  leaders  serve  the  useful  purpose  of  purveyors  of 
political  ideas  and  agents.  These  they  present  and  ad- 
vertise, looking  for  acceptance  and  approval  which  spells 
political  success.  Lowell  plead  for  the  more  specific  and 
concrete  study  of  party  forces  and  personalities  as  a  pre- 
liminary to  their  clearer  interpretation.^** 

Few  attempts  were  made  at  systematic  defense  or 
explanation  of  the  machine  and  the  boss.  Their  strength 
did  not  depend  upon  philosophy,  literature  or  the  written 
law.  It  rested  upon  the  ability  of  a  few  selfish  and  pow- 
erful men  willing  to  exploit  an  unorganized  community 
at  any  cost,  and  upon  widespread  indifference  and  apathy, 
dependent  on  powerful  economic  and  social  forces.  Yet 
it  is  clear  that  so  widespread  a  system  did  not  endure 
for  so  long  a  time  without  some  general  explanation  or 
*8a «'  Public  Opinion  and  Popular  Government." 


300  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

justification  on  the  part  of  its  defenders  and  partici- 
pants.^* 

Brooks  in  his  important  study  enumerates  four  types 
of  defence.  These  are,  first,  that  pohtical  "  corruption 
makes  business  good,"  second,  that  corruption  may  be 
ofifset  by  the  high  efficiency  of  those  who  engage  in  it; 
third,  that  it  saves  us  from  mob  rule ;  fourth,  that  corrup- 
tion is  part  of  an  evolutionary  process  on  the  whole  benefi- 
cent.°"  These  typds  he  examines  and  illustrates  in  some 
detail,  concluding  that  the  first  and  the  second  are  com- 
monly held  while  the  latter  are  still  only  slightly  sup- 
ported. But  none  of  these  is  tenable,  he  held.  Primar- 
ily abuses  exist  because  they  are  immediately  profitable 
to  certain  persons  who  are  unscrupulous  enough  to  profit 
by  manipulation. 

Brooks  concluded  that  on  the  whole  our  current  political 
morality  is  not  inferior  to  our  business  and  social  moral- 
ity. The  great  unsolved  problem  is  the  general  improve- 
ment of  social  and  business  ethics  on  which  political 
evils  rest.  Unless  this  is  done  no  real  progress  can  be 
made.^^ 

Only  occasionally  does  the  system  find  theoretical  jus- 
tification. Ford  maintained  that  the  rule  of  the  bosses 
and  party  machines,  though  a  poor  exchange  for  demo- 

*^  See  M.  H.  Simkhovitch,  "  Friendship  and  Politics,"  Pol.  Sc. 
Quarterly,  17,  189;  William  L.  Riordon,  "  Plunkitt  of  Tammany 
Hall,"  Chap.  I;  "Honest  Graft  and  Dishonest  Graft";  R.  C.  Brooks, 
"Corruption  in  American  Politics  and  Life";  G.  Myers,  "The  Se- 
cret of  Tammany's  Success,"  Forum,  Vol.  31,  p.  188;  Josiah  Flynt, 
"  The  Tammany  Commandment,"  McClure's  Magazine,  Vol.  17,  p.  543. 

50  Op.  cit.,  p.  4. 

51  Op.  cit.,  p.  75. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  301 

cratic  government,  was  on  the  whole  better  than  any 
substitute  available  in  the  present  condition  of  American 
politics.**^  He  believed  that  the  party  system  was  neces- 
sary in  order  to  give  the  actually  dominant  classes  po- 
litical power  which  they  did  not  normally  possess.  That 
without  such  a  governing  agency  there  would  be  dis- 
order, violence  and  possible  chaos.  Just  as  mediaeval 
feudalism  held  the  masses  together  until  the  modern  nation 
was  formed,  so  the  party  feudalism  performs  a  like  serv- 
ice in  establishing  "  connections  of  interest  among  the 
masses  of  the  people." 

An  elaborate  and  formal  defence  of  the  spoils  system 
was  made  by  D.  G.  Thompson,  in  a  volume  entitled 
"  Politics  in  a  Democracy,"  published  in  1893.  This  in- 
teresting philosophy  of  Tammany  Hall  and  the  spoils 
system  generally  contains  a  full  statement  of  a  theory 
of  the  machine.  The  fundamental  premise  of  Thompson 
is  that  a  "  governing  syndicate  "  is  necessary  in  most 
cities  until  such  time  as  people  are  able  to  govern  them- 
selves without  a  political  superior.  "  It  is  commercial 
in  principle  and  not  necessarily  vicious.  At  all  events 
it  is  a  natural  and  readily  explicable  product  of  evolu- 
tion." Tammany  Hall  is  a  governing  syndicate  which 
undertakes  the  rule  of  New  York  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people,  and  roughly  represents  the  public  will.  At  the 
head  of  the  syndicate  is  the  leader,  commonly  called  the 
"  boss."     The  merit  of  the  boss  consists  "  in  his  knowl- 

52  Compare  Brooks  Adams,  "  The  Theory  of  Social  Revolutions," 
1913,  Ch.  I,  declaring  that  the  present  system  "  serves  to  hold  society 
together  in  a  transition  stage  of  political  evolution.  It  is  not  the  be- 
trayal of  democracy,  but  the  "  diplomatic  treatment  of  ochlocracy." 


302  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

edge  of  conditions  and  quickness  in  apprehending  a 
change  in  them,  and  in  his  knowledge  of  and  ability  to 
control  men."  He  holds  his  position  not  by  election, 
but  by  common  consent.  His  tenure  depends  upon  suc- 
cess. He  leads  because  "  he  is  quick  to  rise  to  the  top 
of  the  wave  that  propels  him  forward." 

But  though  Tammany  is  ruled  in  an  autocratic  way, 
its  fundamental  sympathies  are  democratic.  Its  success 
is  due  to  its  adherence  to  national  democracy,  to  good 
municipal  administration,  and  to  the  development  of  a 
net-work  of  social  activities.  Tammany  can  be  defeated 
only  by  another  syndicate  with  the  same  general  type  of 
organization.  But  for  this  purpose  the  so-called  "  bet- 
ter element "  is  inadequate.  They  are  unreliable ;  they 
are  too  independent;  there  are  too  few  who  have  a  real 
interest;  and  on  the  whole  they  are  a  minority  of  the 
community.  Tammany  affords  a  discipline  over  the 
"  lower  classes  " ;  which  is  most  admirable  for  the  public 
interest.  "  It  is  far  better  in  every  way,"  says  Thomp- 
son, "  for  the  city,  that  half  educated,  illiterate  and  newly 
naturalized  voters  should  be  held,  if  they  can  be,  under 
the  influence  and  sway  of  a  strong,  well  compacted  and 
centralized  organization;  that  they  be  taught  an  allegi- 
ance to  it,  and  learn  to  obey  the  behests  of  its  com- 
manders." 

The  opposition  to  Tammany  arises  from  race  preju- 
dice; from  religious  antagonism;  from  the  resentment 
of  paternalism  against  the  plain  people.  Tammany  is 
fundamentally  democratic  and  stands  out  against  the 
aristocracy  of  social  position  and  of  intellect  and  wealth. 
Of  its  opponents,  he  says,  "  Even  in  the  office  of  hogreeve. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  303 

they  would  prefer  that  a  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  should 
serve,  rather  than  a  Patrick  O'Flaherty."  If  there  is  evil 
in  Tammany,  it  is  due  largely  to  the  activities  of  those 
who  publicly  denounce  it,  that  is  to  say,  to  business  inter- 
ests. "  The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  the  business  com- 
munity is  primarily  and  chiefly  responsible  for  political 
corruption  of  all  sorts,  and  particularly  with  interference 
with  legislation  for  private  ends."  The  general  popular 
indifference  is  due  to  a  tendency  toward  self  rule,  toward 
the  industrialism  which  Spencer  discusses  and  which 
Thompson  approves.  The  chief  need,  after  all,  is  not 
a  reform  of  the  party,  or  the  government,  but  improve- 
ment of  the  individual  sense  of  responsibility  and  duty. 

While  the  underlying  idea  was  seldom  so  frankly  and 
clearly  stated  as  by  Thompson,  there  is  little  doubt  that 
this  doctrine  was  fairly  representative  of  the  ideas  of 
those  who  directly  employed  and  profited  by  the  methods 
of  the  professional  spoilsman.  The  system  was  tolerated 
and  silently  justified  and  supported  by  those  who  were  its 
beneficiaries  for  reasons  not  much  different  from  those 
set  forth  in  the  writings  of  the  apologist  for  Tammany 
Hall.'^^  Charles  Norman  Fay  ^^  gives  a  frank  defence 
of  corruption,  quoting  a  well  known  citizen  as  follows : 

"  I  have  no  more  hesitation  in  buying than  in  buying 

a  pound  of  beef.  We  are  serving  a  great  public  need, 
on  the  whole  cheaply  and  well.  Buying  these  rascals  is 
a  part  of  the  cost  of  service  which  the  people  put  on  us. 

"3  Job  Hedges,  "  Common  Sense  in  Politics  " ;  Clarkson,  "  The 
Politician  and  the  Pharisee,"  N.  A.  R.,  152-613  (1891)  ;  Brander 
Matthews,  "The  American  of  the  Future"  (1910),  Ch.  13. 

5* "  Big  Business  and  Government,"  Chap.  28,  1912, 


304  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Well,  they  pay  the  bill."  Senator  Root  said,  "  Good 
men,  good  citizens,  honest  law-abiding  men,  justified 
themselves  in  the  directorates  of  these  railroads  and  other 
public  service  corporations  in  spending  the  money  of  the 
corporations  to  elect  Senators  and  Assemblymen  who 
would  protect  them  against  strike  bills."  ^^ 

More  cynical  than  any  of  these  apologies  was  the  fa- 
mous dictum  of  Senator  Ingalls :  "  The  purification  of 
politics  is  an  iridescent  dream.  Government  is  force. 
Politics  is  a  battle  for  supremacy.  Parties  are  the  arm- 
ies. The  decalogue  and  the  golden  rule  have  no  place 
in  a  political  campaign.  .  .  .  The  commander  who  lost 
a  battle  through  the  activity  of  his  moral  nature  would 
be  the  derision  and  jest  of  history.  This  modern  cant 
about  the  corruption  of  politics  is  fatiguing  in  the  ex- 
treme." 

The  development  of  political  thought  regarding  the 
political  party  as  an  agency  of  democratic  government 
may  be  summarized  briefly  in  this  way.  At  first,  the 
extensive  organization  and  far-reaching  power  of  the 
party  were  scarcely  perceived  at  all.  Then  came  the 
dawning  consciousness  of  the  existence  of  a  powerful 
organization  often  dominating  the  parties  and  the  com- 
munity, particularly  under  urban  and  industrial  condi- 
tions. Then  came  a  series  of  desperate  efforts  to  destroy 
the  "  machine  "  and  the  "  ring  "  by  appeals  to  the  demo- 
cratic instinct  of  the  voters.  Then  followed  a  long  series 
of  statutory  attempts  to  regulate  and  restrain  the  party 
"  machine,"  to  democratize  and  constitutionalize  it.  The 
underlying  theory  of  this  movement  was  that  the  power 
55  Addresses,  p.  i88. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  305 

of  the  party  system  was  due  principally  to  the  laxity  of 
the  law.  Then  public  attention  turned  toward  the  prob- 
lem of  political  leadership  in  a  democracy,  and  the  idea 
arose  that  the  organization  of  "  conspicuous  responsibil- 
ity "  within  the  government  itself  might  eliminate  some 
of  the  worst  evils  by  providing  a  rallying  point  for  pub- 
lic interest  and  action.  At  about  the  same  time  there 
appeared  interpretations  of  the  party  in  terms  of  the  re- 
lation between  government  and  industry  in  which  the 
party  system  was  depicted  as  a  by-product  of  the  po- 
litical-economic system.  Common  to  all  these  theories 
was  the  tendency  to  look  upon  the  party  as  an  organic 
part  of  the  government  —  as  an  integral  section  of  a 
governmental  arrangement.  The  boss,  the  machine,  the 
bi-partisan  ring,  were  severely  censured,  but  party  or- 
ganization and  leadership  itself  came  to  be  considered  a 
part  of  the  democratic  process,  and  not  merely  as  the 
voluntary  activity  of  private  persons. 

As  the  party  grew  up  alongside  of  the  government,  so 
there  sprang  up  inside  of  or  beside  the  party  various  types 
of  unofficial  organizations.  The  earliest  feature  of  this 
movement  was  the  growth  of  Independency.  The  Lib- 
eral Republican  movement  of  the  '70's;  the  Mugwump 
movement  of  the  '8o's,  and  the  "  anti-machine  "  and  "  in- 
surgent ''  movements  of  the  last  twenty  years  were  illus- 
trations of  unofficial  activity  within  the  party  itself. 
Much  of  this  sentiment  in  the  early  period  clustered 
around  the  Grange  and  the  Knights  of  Labor.  These 
efforts  offset  the  tendency  toward  an  unswerving  type  of 
party  allegiance,  checking  this  development  sometimes  by 
protest  and  sometimes  by  counter  organization. 


306  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

A  further  phenomenon,  indicating  the  growth  of  un- 
official government,  is  seen  in  the  development  of  great 
numbers  of  volunteer  political  organizations  undertaking 
the  function  of  instructing,  advising,  exhorting,  men- 
acing, obstructing  and  assisting  the  government  and  the 
electorate.  In  some  instances  they  too  became  the  gov- 
ernment to  all  intents  and  purposes.  These  groups 
sprang  up  as  the  result  of  the  scandalous  abuses  in  city 
government,  and  often  took  the  shape  of  vigilance  com- 
mittees or  emergency  organizations,  to  re-establish  the 
popular  control  over  the  government.  The  committee 
formed  in  New  York  City  in  the  Tweed  days  was  one 
of  the  first  and  most  conspicuous  examples  of  this,  and 
the  municipal  history  of  almost  every  city  affords  some 
illustration  of  citizen  uprisings.  These  organizations, 
while  often  merely  ephemeral,  often  tended  to  establish 
themselves  as  institutions.  There  came  into  existence  a 
long  series  of  societies,  clubs,  leagues,  aside  from  the 
established  commercial,  agricultural,  labor,  fraternal  and 
other  similar  societies,  carrying  on  a  continuous  work 
of  criticism  and  construction  in  political  affairs.  Occa- 
sionally they  took  the  shape  of  municipal  parties,  but 
more  commonly  not.  The  Citizens'  Union,  the  Bureau 
of  Municipal  Research  in  New  York  City,  and  the  Mu- 
nicipal Voters'  League  in  Chicago  are  conspicuous  illus- 
trations of  this  type  of  citizens'  organizations. 

Nor  were  they  confined  to  cities  alone.  On  the  con- 
trary, state  and  national  organizations  flourished.  They 
might  be  conservative,  liberal  or  radical.  They  might 
be  directly  concerned  with  the  structure  of  government 
or  with  some  proposed  function  of  government.     They 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  307 

might  be  directed  toward  structural  changes  in  govern- 
mental machinery,  as  the  short  ballot,  proportional  repre- 
sentation of  some  type,  initiative  and  referendum,  public 
ownership,  defence  of  "constitutional  government"; 
with  questions  of  administrative  efficiency,  with  the  quali- 
fications of  candidates,  with  social  reforms  in  such  fields 
as  the  protection  of  children  and  women,  penology,  recre- 
ation, education.  Of  these  groups  the  number  was  very 
large  and  frequently  there  were  not  only  organizations, 
but  counter  organizations  also. 

In  the  frequent  absence  of  effective  political  leadership, 
or  of  administrative  initiative,  these  associations  played 
an  active  and  often  a  very  important  role  in  public  affairs, 
and  were  a  significant  part  of  the  political  society.  Al- 
though outside  the  government  and  outside  the  parties, 
they  often  formulated  and  expressed  public  opinion  in 
platforms  and  elections  more  clearly  than  the  government 
or  the  parties  themselves.  They  differed  from  the  unpaid 
public  servants  acting  in  various  public  capacities  in  that 
they  held  no  technically  responsible  position  in  govern- 
ment; nevertheless  they  were  from  time  to  time  more 
powerful.  They  did  not  often  apply  lynch  law  person- 
ally, as  did  the  Vigilantes  occasionally,  although  this  was 
threatened  sometimes, —  as  when  ropes  were  dangled  over 
the  heads  of  the  law  makers  of  Chicago, —  but  they  often 
brought  such  pressure  to  bear  as  to  compel  action.  They 
were  at  one  end  of  the  field,  while  the  invisible  govern- 
ment of  the  boss  and  the  magnate  were  at  the  other. 
Much  of  the  current  legislation  came  from  this  group, 
and  much  of  the  demand  for  effective  administration; 
much  of  the  vital  public  discussion  by  which  public  opin- 


3o8  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ion  is  shaped  and  made.  They  often  did  the  work  of 
parties  and  of  parliamentary  bodies;  and  sometimes  that 
of  administration.^^ 

While  the  government  was  being  centralized  and  while 
the  party  system  was  being  regulated  and  officialized,  the 
unofficial  voluntary  organizations  were  springing  up  in 
other  and  less  official  types  of  association  and  action.  On 
the  whole,  public  opinion  favored  these  extra  legal  agen- 
cies more  than  it  did  the  government.  Political  leader- 
ship developed  slowly  within  the  government,  while  vital 
currents  of  confidence  flowed  through  the  regular  party 
and  the  insurgent  or  independent  reserves  outside  the 
party.  Organizations  of  capital,  organizations  of  labor, 
party  organizations  and  the  unofficial  citizens'  organiza- 
tions all  grew  more  rapidly  in  power  than  did  the  formal 
government  itself.  If  we  consider  in  this  connection  the 
expansion  of  the  electorate  in  the  development  of  direct 
legislation,  the  process  of  the  development  of  popular 
government  is  still  more  striking.  American  thought, 
while  it  was  political  in  tendency,  was  somewhat  indi- 
rectly political,  distrustful  of  officialism  and  inclined  to 
lean  upon  the  extra  legal  agencies.  The  boss,  the  ma- 
chine, the  invisible  government,  the  party,  the  insurgents, 
the  reformers,  all  made  their  machinery  and  developed 

58  W.  H.  Tolman,  "  Municipal  Reform  Movements " ;  T.  C.  Dev- 
lin, "  Municipal  Reform  in  the  United  States " ;  W.  B.  Munro, 
"  The  Government  of  American  Cities,"  Ch.  14 ;  Theodore  Roosevelt, 
"The  Strenuous  Life,"  pp.  41-62;  F.  A.  Cleveland,  "Organized 
Democracy,"  Chap.  8-9;  Gustavus  Meyers,  "History  of  the  Great 
American  Fortunes,"  Vol.  i,  p.  236;  Roscoe  Conkling,  "Life  and 
Letters,"  gives  his  famous  attack  on  George  Wm.  Curtis  in  1877, 
p.  538. 


UNOFFICIAL  GOVERNMENT  309 

their  power  with  rapidity  startling  in  comparison  to  that 
of  the  government.  Rigidity  and  stiffness  of  formal 
government,  and  flexibility  and  adaptability  in  informal 
government,  were  the  characteristic  features  of  the  time. 
Outside  the  hard  lines  of  constitutional  and  formal  gov- 
ernment, the  political  thought  and  enterprise  of  the  day 
seized  with  great  avidity  the  new  forces  of  the  new  time, 
sometimes  for  public  and  sometimes  for  private  ends,  and 
shaped  them  into  a  many-hued  variety  of  forms,  unknown 
to  tradition,  unforeseen  by  the  Fathers  and  unwelcome 
sometimes  even  to  their  own  creators.  These  new  types 
were  not  the  result  of  conscious  calculation.  They  were 
the  instinctive  product  of  political  interest  and  activity 
finding  expression  wherever  it  found  an  open  way  lead- 
ing to  political  result.  The  appreciation  of  these  extra- 
legal, quasi-governmental,  semi-political  forces  and  fac- 
tors is  fundamental  to  an  understanding  of  the  develop- 
ment of  American  institutions  and  the  progress  of  Ameri- 
can thought  during  the  last  half  century. 

On  the  whole,  the  significant  features  of  the  period 
were  the  protest  against  the  "  machine,"  and  its  ten- 
dency to  sacrifice  the  end  to  the  means;  the  determined 
effort  to  insure  democratic  party  control  by  restriction 
of  patronage  and  control  of  nominating  methods;  the 
transition  to  party  interpretation  in  terms  of  govern- 
mental structure,  and  of  economic  and  social  relations; 
increasing  attention  to  the  theory  and  practice  of  leader- 
ship in  a  democracy,  and  toward  the  intimate  relation 
between  political  and  social  causes  and  effects. 


CHAPTER  XI 

GOVERNMENT    AND    LIBERTY 

The  early  Fathers  looked  theoretically  upon  all  gov- 
ernment with  suspicion.  They  believed  that  the  less  gov- 
ernment the  more  liberty,  the  more  government  the  less 
liberty.  The  Colonies  wished  to  be  left  alone  by  Great 
Britain.  Later,  the  individual  states  wished  to  be  left 
alone  by  the  national  government.  The  local  divisions 
of  the  state,  in  many  instances,  wished  to  be  left  free 
to  develop  undisturbed  by  the  commonwealth;  and  citi- 
zens generally  wished  to  be  let  alone  by  the  government, 
feeling  that  only  in  this  way  could  their  individual  liberty 
be  preserved.  They  were  not  greatly  interested  in  co- 
operative or  collective  action,  either  as  individuals,  as 
states,  or  as  a  nation.  Their  political  theory,  their  pub- 
lic law,  their  national  policy,  all  were  based  upon  a 
philosophy  of  isolation. 

During  the  next  generation  the  earlier  individualism 
was  intensified  by  the  frontier  conditions  under  which 
American  life  expanded  and  developed.  The  philosophy 
of  the  pioneer  was  the  philosophy  of  self-reliance.  Indi- 
viduals were  thrown  back  upon  themselves  under  the  con- 
ditions of  settlement  in  new  countries.  In  many  in- 
stances men  were  miles  from  their  nearest  neighbor,  left 
to  wrestle  with  nature,  little  aided  by  government  or  so- 

310 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  31 1 

ciety.  Indeed,  there  was  as  simple  a  government  under 
frontier  conditions  as  it  is  possible  to  conceive  on  a  civil- 
ized basis.  There  was  almost  a  total  absence  of  any  offi- 
cial or  governing  class.  There  was  little  organized  mili- 
tary activity.  In  short,  the  frontier  conditions  were 
fundamentally  favorable  to  the  advancement  of  the  indi- 
vidualistic idea. 

Theoretically  individualism  was  reflected  in  the  writ- 
ings of  Emerson,  Thoreau  and  the  group  in  New  Eng- 
land known  as  the  "  transcendentalists,"  who  at  the  same 
time,  however,  were  humanitarians,  not  averse  to  com- 
munal action.  Many  collectivist  experiments  were  made 
during  this  period. 

The  discussion  of  liberty  during  this  period  centered 
around  the  institution  of  slavery.  This  was  assailed  by 
the  abolitionists  and  the  anti-slavery  group  as  an  unwar- 
ranted invasion  of  the  individual  right  of  the  slave. 
Anti-slavery  and  the  rankest  forms  of  individualism  went 
hand  in  hand  during  this  period,  shading  over  into  re- 
ligious or  Utopian  socialism.  William  Lloyd  Garrison, 
leader  of  the  radical  wing  of  the  Abolitionists,  was  an 
advocate  of  non-resistance  and  "  no  government " — 
a  member  of  the  sect  called  the  "  Come-Outers,"  who 
*'  came  out "  of  society,  and  the  State,  and  the  church, 
separating  themselves  from  these  institutions,  as  far  as 
it  was  possible  to  do  so.  The  slavery  controversy,  how- 
ever, cut  squarely  across  the  track  of  humanitarianism, 
and  for  a  generation  economic  and  social  problems  were 
subordinated  to  the  abolition  struggle,  to  the  conduct  of 
the  war,  and  to  the  difficulties  of  reconstruction  and  re- 
organization. 


312  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

During  the  last  half  of  the  century  the  question  of  the 
limits  of  governmental  activity  was  raised  in  many  con- 
crete ways.     The  transformation  of  conditions  wrought 
by  urban  and  industrial  tendencies  profoundly  modified 
the  facts  of  life  and  influenced  its  philosophy.     Under 
the  new  conditions  it  was  inevitable  that  new  rules  of 
conduct  should  be  shaped  to  meet  the  new  surroundings 
and  relations.     Regulations  adapted  to  rural  and  agricul- 
tural conditions  were  often  ill-fitted  to  urban  industrial 
centers,  while  the  changes  in  industrial  organization  vi- 
tally afiFected  the  form  of  legal  and  political  relations. 
The  competitive  process  was  radically  changed,  and  the 
rule  of  the  early  regime  must  be  modified  to  meet  the 
new  situations.     Inevitably  in  the  transition  state,  there 
were  conflicting  doctrines  as  to  what  the  government 
should  do,  and  how  far  it  should  go  in  the  regulation  of 
the  social  and  industrial  process.     Monopoly  soon  chal- 
lenged competition  in  industry,  and  the  new  conditions 
required  new  interpretations.     Specific  controversies  in- 
volved questions  of  law  and  political  philosophy  which 
compelled  close  inquiry  into  the  analysis  of  the  proper 
work  of  the  government.     On  the  one  hand  the  concen- 
tration of  capital  in  large  corporations,  and  in  still  larger 
holding  companies,  raised  the  question  as  to  the  legal 
power  and  political  duty  of  the  government  toward  these 
new  combinations.     On  the  other  hand  the  concentration 
of  labor  in  well  organized  and  powerful  unions  raised 
another  set  of  questions  regarding  the  right  to  organize, 
the  "  collective  bargaining "  process,   strikes,  picketing, 
blacklisting,   boycotting,   the  "  closed   shop "   and   other 
problems  collateral  to  the  concentration  of  labor  power. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  313 

Again,  the  progress  of  social  legislation  involved  the 
consideration  of  fundamental  questions  of  political  the- 
ory. To  what  extent  should  the  State  regulate  working 
and  living  conditions  of  men,  women,  and  children,  how 
far  modify  the  traditional  relations  between  "  master  " 
and  "  men,"  how  far  intervene  in  the  industrial  process 
for  the  protection  of  society. 

Again,  in  connection  with  the  problem  of  governmental 
ownership  of  public  utilities  in  cities,  and  of  railroads  and 
natural  resources  by  the  Federal  government,  the  whole 
question  of  the  proper  function  of  the  State  was  clearly 
raised.  Industrial  theories  of  competition  against  con- 
solidation, of  the  small  and  competing  business  against 
the  large  monopoly  business  called  for  and  were  answered 
by  divergent  political  theories  of  State  activity  or  non- 
interference. 

In  the  same  way  the  governmental  policy  of  tariff,  of 
subsidies  to  railways  and  merchant  marine,  of  taxation 
for  public  purposes,  of  the  regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic, 
all  involved  to  some  extent  the  consideration  of  the 
fundamental  purpose  for  which  the  State  exists  and  the 
limits  which  should  be  imposed  upon  its  action.  Like- 
wise the  use  of  the  taxing  power  of  the  government 
raised  the  legal  and  theoretical  questions  as  to  what  con- 
stitutes a  "  public  purpose." 

The  theory  of  the  activity  appropriate  to  the  State 
underwent  a  material  change  toward  the  last  half  of  the 
19th  century.  Several  distinct  phases  of  this  movement 
appeared,  among  them  the  following : 

1st.  The  continuation  of  the  earlier  individualistic 
theory  and  its  application  to  new  industrial  conditions ; 


314  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

2nd.  The  development  of  a  social-political  theorj'  best 
represented  by  the  doctrine  of  "  social  politics  "  and  the 
legal  theory  of  the  *'  police  power  " ; 

3rd.  The  development  of  the  general  theory  of  State 
socialism ; 

4th.  The  development  of  the  doctrines  of  anarchism, 
and  syndicalism. 

The  individualistic  theory  developed  during  this  period 
was  largely  a  re-statement  of  the  earlier  doctrines  applied 
with  little  change  to  new  conditions.  Strong  emphasis 
was  laid  on  the  value  of  individual  enterprise,  the  im- 
portance of  individual  initiative,  upon  the  significance  of 
self-reliance  and  responsibility  as  factors  in  the  growth 
of  the  community.  It  was  asserted  that  these  were  the 
typical  qualities  upon  which  American  prosperity  had 
been  based,  and  upon  which  American  energy  and  en- 
terprise fed.  The  settlement  of  a  vast  new  territory,  the 
development  of  the  lines  of  communication  and  transpor- 
tation, the  organization  of  manufacturing  and  mining, 
and  the  growth  of  industry  in  general  were  attributed  to 
this  individualism.  Thus  broadly  stated,  the  theory  was 
the  generally  accepted  doctrine  of  the  period.  In  the 
earlier  part  of  this  epoch  these  qualities  were  generally 
imputed  to  the  population  as  a  whole,  but  toward  the 
end  the  tendency  was  to  attribute  the  chief  values  of  in- 
dividualism to  the  industrial  leaders,  or,  as  they  were 
called,  "  captains  of  industry."  To  their  inventive  and 
creative  power  were  due,  in  great  part,  it  was  said,  the 
industrial  gains  of  the  period.  The  conclusion  was 
drawn,  that  the  individual  should  be  as  little  as  possible 
restrained  by  the  law;  that  the  State  should  pursue,  ex- 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  315 

cept  in  cases  of  extreme  urgency,  a  policy  of  non-inter- 
ference with  the  development  of  individual  conduct,  and 
the  individual  person  or  corporation  should  be  left  un- 
trammeled  by  irksome  restrictions  of  a  paternal  govern- 
ment. 

Non-interference  became  the  slogan  of  many  interests 
obviously  anxious  to  avoid  governmental  regulations. 
Railroads  threatened  with  regulation,  corporations  held 
in  check  by  public  measures,  certain  industries  resisting 
sanitary  and  social  regulation,  raised  the  banner  of 
laissez-faire.  They  asked  for  a  free  hand  in  the  conduct 
of  their  enterprises,  and  they  generalized  their  conclu- 
sions into  a  law  of  minimum  governmental  control. 

In  its  earliest  stages,  this  theory  was  a  re-statement 
of  the  economic  doctrine  of  the  "  natural  laws  "  of  indus- 
try under  which  economic  processes  are  most  safely  di- 
rected, and  was  hostile  to  governmental  interference  with 
these  processes  of  natural  law.  Political  economists  were 
often  quoted  in  support  of  a  policy  of  laisses  faire,  but 
their  frequent  insistence  upon  the  application  of  the  prin- 
ciple in  the  form  of  free  trade  reduced  their  marginal 
utility.  Thiis  the  well  known  economist  David  A.  Wells 
held  that  "  the  reformation  of  the  individual  is  something 
more  important  than  the  reformation  of  society."  ^ 
"  The  destruction  of  the  poor  is  their  poverty,  and  they 
stand  in  their  own  light."  Conditions,  not  legislation, 
may  reduce  the  hours  of  workingmen.  "  A  shorter  day," 
said  he,  "  is  an  absurdity  because  it  will  reduce  production 
and  hence  wages.  One  day's  rest  in  seven  is  a  curious 
provision."     There  are  evils  in  the  existing  equality  of 

1 "  Recent  Economic  Changes,"  i88g,  p.  431. 


3l6  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

wealth,  but  there  will  be  still  greater  evils  if  there  is  noth- 
ing but  equality. 

These  ideas  were  expressed  in  systematic  form  by 
various  thinkers  and  writers.  Sumner,^  for  a  genera- 
tion the  most  conspicuous  opponent  of  State  activity, 
declared  that  the  United  States  stands  for  individualism 
and  personal  liberty.  All  political  questions,  said  he,  are 
"  struggles  of  interests  for  larger  margins  of  the  product 
of  industry."  The  decision  of  these  contests  might  bet- 
ter be  left  to  free  contract  than  to  governmental  adjudi- 
cation. "  Which  may  we  better  trust,"  he  said,  "  the 
play  of  free  social  forces  or  legislative  and  administrative 
interference  ?  "  Again,  he  says :  "  The  truth  is  that 
the  social  order  is  fixed  by  laws  of  nature  precisely  analo- 
gous to  those  of  the  physical  order.  The  most  that  man 
can  do  is  by  his  ignorance  and  conceit  to  mar  the  opera- 
tion of  the  social  laws."  Sumner  proclaimed  that  the 
evils  of  society  are  due  in  great  measure  "  to  the  dog- 
matism and  self-interest  of  statesmen,  philosophers  and 
ecclesiastics,  who  in  the  past  time  have  done  just  what 
the  socialists  now  want  to  do."  He  grouped  together  as 
institutions,  liberty,  equality  before  the  law,  responsi- 
bility, individualism,  monogamy,  and  private  prop- 
erty. He  assailed  all  socialistic  "  projects  for  curing 
poverty  by  making  those  who  have  share  with  those  who 
have  not,"  ^  and  decried  the  attention  given  to  "  nasty, 
shiftless,  criminal,  whining,  crawling  and  good  for  noth- 

2  William  Graham  Sumner,  "  What  Social  Classes  Owe  to  Each 
Other,"  1883;  "The  Forgotten  Man,"  1887;  "The  Challenge  of 
Facts,"  1914. 

2  T.  N.  Carver,  "  Essays  in  Social  Justice,"  1915. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  317 

ing  people."     Sumner  impartially  denounced  protection, 
fiat  money,  humanitarianism  and  trade  unionism. 

Vigorous  assertions  of  the  doctrine  of  non-interfer- 
ence were  made  by  industrial  organizations,  notably  the 
American  Association  of  Manufacturers.  In  their  con- 
stitution of  1904,  one  of  the  declared  objects  was  "  the 
maintenance  of  individualism."  "  We  stand,"  said  Mr. 
Emery,  "  upon  the  theory  of  principles  in  which  the  in- 
dividual is  the  unit  of  authority,  the  unit  of  power 
and  the  unit  of  growth."  ^  "  The  owners  of  factories," 
said  Mr.  Post,  "  have  the  absolute  right  to  the  manage- 
ment of  their  properties  and  must  maintain  such  rights 
against  any  mob  of  bandits  and  law-breakers."  ^  "  The 
workingman,"  said  Mr.  Post,  "  carries  some  boards  to  the 
building  and  a  horse  hauls  some  more.  Which  '  creates ' 
and  to  which  should  the  building  partly  belong?  Both 
work  and  both  execute,  but  neither  originates  nor  creates 
any  wealth  whatever.  Both  are  paid  an  agreed,  under- 
stood and  full  equivalent  for  their  services ;  —  the  horse 
his  oats,  hay  and  water,  and  the  workman  his  money." 
In  general  they  denounced  all  movements  in  the  direction 
of  Socialism,  but  were  not  opposed  to  railroad  regulation 
or  to  a  national  tariff  commission.®  They  sharply  crit- 
icized Seth  Low,  Samuel  Gompers,  and  the  National  Civic 
Federation  defending  what  they  called  "  diversified  in- 
dustry "  as  against  "  socialized  industry,"  in  which  there 
is  a  great  massing  together  of  capital,  as  in  the  larger 
industries  reaching  or  approaching  monopoly  form.     To- 

*  Proceedings,  1905,  p.  205. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  284. 

'  Sec  Kirby,  Ibid.,  1913,  p.  72,  on  Conservatives  and  Radicals, 


3l8  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ward  the  end  of  the  period,  however,  an  effort  was  made 
for  the  adoption  of  a  new  plan,  including  a  constructive 
legislation  program.'' 

The  particular  right  they  believed  to  be  menaced  was 
that  of  "  industrial  liberty,"  and  the  center  of  the  con- 
troversy was  the  "  right  to  work."  The  right  of  an 
employee  to  work  "  where  he  pleased,  when  he  pleased 
and  for  what  he  pleased  "  was  held  to  be  fundamental,* 
and  must  be  protected  at  all  hazards  by  the  law  of  the 
land.^ 

A  striking  statement  of  the  general  position  of  the 
Association  was  that  given  in  the  following  extract  from 
the  proceedings  of  19 13. 

"  But  when  they  have  proof  of  constantly  recurring 
murder,  arson,  destruction,  intimidation,  assaults,  organ- 
ized conspiracies  for  crime,  and  nefarious  plots  equal  to 
the  Russian  Nihilists;  when  we  see  inherent  rights  of 
American  laboring  men  blasted  by  the  cruelties  of  a  defi- 
ant labor  trust;  when  we  witness  our  boasted  constitu- 
tional precepts  repudiated,  human  life  endangered  or 
crushed,  unconscionable  compacts  to  exclude  men  from  la- 
bor unless  unionized,  tagged  and  labeled  like  so  many 
cords  of  wood;  when  we  observe  dynamite,  nitro-glycerin 
and  the  torch  demolishing  property  and  shattering  lives ; 
cruelties  administered  by  all  kinds  of  ingenious  and  in- 
iquitous methods;  when  we  see  legitimate  industry  cun- 
ningly boycotted,  and  subtle  schemes  devised  to  defeat 
the  sale  of  manufactured  products  except  under  rules  of 

"^  Proceedings,  1914,  p.  193. 
8  Ibid.,  1905,  p.  206. 
^  Ibid.,  1913,  p.  68. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  319 

union  czardom  ;  when,  I  say,  we  observe  this  panorama  of 
innumerable  criminal  acts,  done  shamelessly  in  the  name 
of  unionized  labor,  then,  I  declare,  with  personal  convic- 
tion, that  it  is  high  time  that  language  commensurate  to 
describe  such  atrocities,  be  employed  to  bring  to  our  real- 
ization and  to  our  citizenship  the  frightful  conditions  that 
menace  our  lives,  our  liberty,  our  property  and  our  in- 
heritances." 

In  the  New  York  Constitutional  Convention  of  191 5 
William  Barnes,  as  a  delegate,  presented  an  amendment 
to  the  constitution  forbidding  the  legislature  "  to  estab- 
lish a  wage  for  service  to  be  paid  any  employee  by  a  pri- 
vate employer."  ^°  In  presenting  this  amendment  the 
philosopher-boss  discussed  the  ideal  of  equality,  as  he 
termed  it,  and  general  trend  toward  the  "  Prussian  prin- 
ciple." The  concept  of  the  democratic  state,  said  Barnes, 
where  equality  is  the  basis  of  all  law,  is  in  direct  antag- 
onism to  the  autocratic  state  where  every  one  is  made 
subject  to  what  is  declared  to  be  the  collective  interest. 
He  denounced  the  general  policies  of  social  legislation 
and  the  tyranny  of  collectivism.  These  measures  are  not 
an  "  antidote  to  socialism,"  but  tend  to  prepare  the  mind 
for  it  and  make  the  final  triumph  of  socialism  easier  and 
sooner.  "  The  oppression  of  the  crowd,  crowd  interest, 
crowd  demand  for  mediocrity,  might  even  lead  the  hu- 
man race  back  to  the  protoplasm  from  whence  it 
emerged." 

In  the  course  of  an  animated  discussion  upon  the 
Barnes  principle.  Judge  Clearwater  stated  still  more  em- 
phatically the  doctrine  of  old-time  individualism.     The 

1°  Proceedings,  p.  1802. 


320  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

distinguished  jurist  declared  that  immigration  into  the 
United  States  since  1880  had  been  distinctly  bad.  We 
were  building  up,  said  the  judge,  a  class  of  "  proletari- 
ans," who  would  undermine  the  principles  of  government 
and  industry  upon  which  our  nation  was  built.  "  By  pro- 
letarian," he  said,  "  I  mean  the  man  who  has  no  property, 
who  has  not  the  industry,  frugality  and  self-denial  to  ac- 
cumulate property;  a  man  who  will  breed  children  and 
who  will  throw  himself  without  scruple  or  reserve  upon  a 
community  for  support.  That  is  the  proletarian,  and 
that  is  the  proletarian  class,  that  is  growing  up  in  our 
seaboard  states,  and  in  no  city  greater  than  in  this  imperial 
city  of  New  York."  ^^ 

As  against  the  collectivist  tendencies  evident  in  legisla- 
tion, he  appealed  to  the  earlier  ideals  of  American  life. 
Over  against  social  justice  he  set  up  frugality,  honesty, 
simplicity,  the  desire  for  more  education,  the  desire  to 
accumulate  property,  the  desire  to  lay  aside  something 
for  old  age.^^ 

Butler  believed  that  the  remedy  for  modern  ills  is  not  to 
be  found  in  political  action.  There  are,  "  only  two  deep- 
seated  influential  enemies  of  human  happiness  and  human 
order  —  ignorance  and  selfishness."  ^^  For  these  he  pre- 
scribed as  sovereign  remedies  the  specifics  of  education 
and  morality.  Through  these  fundamental  agencies, 
rather  than  through  changes  in  the  form  of  government 

■    "  P.  1833. 

^2  See  page  1834,  for  a  full  statement  of  Judge  Clearwater's  doc- 
trine of  the  earlier  American  ideal.  In  this  connection  notice  the 
vigorous  replies  made  by  Wickersham  and  Schurman. 

^3  "Why  Should  We  Change  our  Form  of  Government?" 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  321 

or  in  the  extension  of  the  activities  of  government,  can 
permanent  improvements  be  made.  Senator  Root  voiced 
the  same  conviction  when  he  said  that  "  the  problem  of 
human  betterment  is  not  a  problem  of  revolution.  It  is 
simply  and  solely  a  matter  of  individual  self  betterment." 
**  If,"  said  the  Senator,  "  men's  standards  of  action  be 
raised,  if  their  citizenship  be  really  sincere  and  vital,  then 
society  is  already  reformed  and  nothing  else  remains  to  be 
done,"  At  the  same  time  any  interference  with  individual 
liberty  by  the  government  should  be  most  closely  watched 
and  restrained,  because  the  habit  of  undue  interference  de- 
stroys that  independence  of  character  in  its  citizens,  with- 
out which  no  free  government  can  endure. 

The  venerable  Burgess,^*  founder  of  the  School  of  Po- 
litical Science  in  Columbia  University,  declared  that  the 
new  "  school  of  sociologists  and  political  economists, 
seeks  to  accomplish  by  governmental  force  what  should 
be  left  to  influence,  religion,  conscience,  charity  and 
honor."  We  are  attempting  the  "  substitution  of  the  club 
of  the  policeman  for  the  crozier  of  the  priest,  the  super- 
vision of  education,  morals  and  philanthropy  by  adminis- 
trative ordinance."  We  are  threatened  by  Cjesarism, 
"  the  rule  of  the  one  by  popular  acclaim,  the  apotheosis 
of  government  and  the  universal  decline  of  the  conscious- 
ness of  and  the  true  desire  for  true  liberty." 

The  most  compact  statement  of  the  later  theory  of  lim- 
ited state  activity  is  made  by  a  group  of  thinkers  including 
Taft,  Butler,  Root,  Lodge,  Gary  and  others  ^'  in  a  recent 

1*  "  The  Reconciliation  of  Government  with  Liberty,"  1915,  p.  380. 

15  See  Beale's  edition  of  Spencer's  "  Man  vs.  the  State,"  containing^ 

Mr.   Root's   preface  to  "The  New   Toryism";   Sen.   Lodge,   "The 


322  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

edition  of  Herbert  Spencer's  famous  attack  upon  state 
activities.  Here  are  found  in  concise  form  the  doctrines 
of  conservative  leaders  upon  the  vexed  problem  of  the 
extent  of  governmental  enterprise  and  action. 

Significant  was  the  activity  of  the  National  Civic  Fed- 
eration, v^hich  undertook  the  reconciliation  of  the  strained 
relations  between  labor  and  capital  and  which  recognized 
the  need  of  publicity  and  of  public  regulation  upon  a 
far  larger  scale  than  heretofore.^®  They  reflected  the 
higher  Conservatism  to  which  it  seemed  desirable  to  pre- 
serve the  large  scale  system  of  production,  but  to  modify 
relations  between  employer  and  employe  in  many  signifi- 
cant particulars. 

Practical  types  of  these  men  were  Seth  Low  and 
Mark  Hanna,  who  recognized  the  value  both  of  the  cor- 
poration and  of  labor  organizations  and  were  willing  to 
modify  their  individualism  to  a  degree.^''^  Andrew  Car- 
negie also  held  strongly  to  individualism,  but  recognized 
the  value  of  the  labor  union  and  the  significant  evolution- 
Coming  Slavery  " ;  E.  H.  Gary,  "  Over-Legislation  " ;  Augustus  P. 
Gardner,  "From  Freedom  to  Bondage";  Nicholas  M.  Butler,  "The 
Great  Political  Superstition";  David  Jayne  Hill,  "The  Man  vs. 
the  State " ;  Harlan  F.  Stone,  "  The  Sins  of  Legislators " ;  Chas. 
W.  Eliot,  "Specialized  Administration";  W.  H.  Taft,  "The  Duty 
of  the  State."  Compare  L.  A.  Coolidge,  "  An  Old  Fashioned  Sen- 
ator "  (O.  H.  Piatt  of  Connecticut),  Ch.  32;  James  O.  Fagan, 
"  The  Autobiography  of  an  Individualist." 

1^  Ida  M.  Tarbell,  "  New  Ideals  in  Business,"  1917. 

1^  Mark  Hanna,  "  Socialism  and  Labor  Unions,"  National  Maga- 
zine, 1903 ;  Croly's  "  Life  of  Mark  Hanna,  " ;  compare  Henry  Clews, 
"  The  Wall  Street  Point  of  View,"  1900;  John  D.  Rockefeller,  "  Ran- 
dom Reminiscences  of  Men  and  Events,"  1909;  John  ]\Ioody,  "The 
Masters  of  Capital." 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  323 

ary  tendency  of  the  times.**  Only  through  exceptional 
individuals  as  leaders,  says  Carnegie,  has  man  been  able 
to  ascend.  "  It  is  the  leaders  who  do  the  new  things 
that  count,  and  all  these  have  been  individualistic  to  a 
degree,  beyond  ordinary  men,  and  worked  in  perfect  free- 
dom." *®  Where  he  differed  from  the  Socialist,  he  said, 
was  regarding  the  "  advisability  of  any  violent  change 
from  individualism,"  The  steel  magnate  expressed  a  be- 
lief in  evolution  rather  than  in  revolution,  in  gradual  and 
conservative  change  rather  than  in  rash  innovation,  and 
predicted  that  the  next  stage  in  evolution  would  be  the 
joint  stock  ownership  of  large  scale  enterprises  by  com- 
binations of  capitalists,  managers  and  workingmen.  No 
one  knows  the  future  of  communism,  but  we  can  see 
clearly  the  approach  toward  joint  share-holding  and  joint 
management  of  industry,  said  he.^*' 

The  necessity  of  material  modification  of  earlier  stand- 
ards of  laissez  faire  is  recognized  by  many  defenders  of 
conservatism.  Senator  Root  clearly  realized  that  we 
have  "  just  begun  to  appreciate  the  transformation  in  in- 
dustrial and  social  conditions  wrought  by  the  inventions 
and  discoveries  of  the  past  century."  He  recognized  that 
the  power  of  organization  has  materially  changed  the 
practical  effect  of  the  system  of  free  contract,  that  the 
interdependence  of  modern  life  has  deprived  the  indi- 
es Andrew  Carnegie,  "Problems  of  To-day,"  1908;  North  Am. 
Rev.,  1889,  on  "Wealth,"  148,  653;  see  also  "Triumphant  Democ- 
racy," 1887;  "The  Gospel  of  Wealth,"  1900;  "The  Empire  of  Busi- 
ness," 1902. 
i»  "  Problems,"  174. 

^^  Ibid.,  77.    Carnegie  favored  progressive  inheritance  taxes  up  to 
at  least  one  half. 


324  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

vidtial  of  his  power  of  self-protection,  and  has  opened 
new  avenues  by  which  fatal  injuries  may  be  inflicted  upon 
his  rights,  his  property,  his  health,  his  liberty  of  action, 
his  life  itself.  Old  customs  and  old  rules  must  dis- 
appear and  new  formulas  and  principles  must  be  worked 
out.  There  will  be  new  forms  through  which  the  law 
will  continue  to  render  its  accustomed  service  to  society. 
The  danger  is  that  the  reaction  will  be  too  violent,  he 
fears,  and  that  the  useful  limits  of  State  interference  will 
be  transgressed,  that  interests  or  prejudices  will  take  the 
place  of  even-handed  justice.^^ 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  discussions  of  individual- 
ism do  not  rest  heavily  upon  the  philosophical  foundations 
of  the  i8th  century  individualism.  The  state  of  nature, 
natural  rights,  the  social  contact,  the  staple  of  the  early 
theory,  have  little  place  in  these  conclusions,  and  in  fact 
are  distinctly  repudiated  by  many.  It  was  not  the  philos- 
ophy of  Locke  that  was  followed,  but  rather  the  theory 
of  the  classical  economists  and  the  sociological  theory  of 
Herbert  Spencer,  whose  famous  treatise  on  Social  Statics 
is  much  more  in  evidence  than  the  17th  and  i8th  century 
doctrines  of  natural  law. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  when 
Spencer  visited  America  in  1882  he  lamented  the  ex- 
cesses to  which  competition  had  gone,  and  was  willing  to 
concede  that  there  was  need  for  governmental  interfer- 
ence,^^ Referring  to  the  doings  of  "  railway  autocrats, 
not  only  when  overriding  the  rights  of  share-holders,  but 

21  Addresses,  p.  519  ff,  (1916), 

22  "Life  and  Letters  of  John  Fiske,"  II,  248.     Spencer's  Essays, 
Vol,  III,  471  ff. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  325 

in  dominating  over  courts  of  justice  and  state  govern- 
ments," he  said  that  the  American  people  were  losing  their 
freedom.  As  to  the  doctrine  of  laissez  faire,  "  I  have 
contended  that  in  its  special  sphere,  the  maintenance  of 
equitable  relations  among  citizens,  governmental  action 
should  be  extended  and  elaborated." 

In  short,  the  individualism  of  this  period  might  more 
accurately  be  characterized  as  an  industrial  and  social 
individualism,  in  contrast  with  the  political  individualism 
of  the  earlier  times.  The  individualism  of  the  Fathers 
was  based  upon  a  belief  that  strong  government  is  iden- 
tical with  absolutism ;  that  the  more  powerful  the  state, 
the  weaker  the  individual.  The  later  type  of  individual- 
ism rested  upon  the  supposition  that  industry  and  trade 
flourish  in  proportion  as  they  are  left  alone  by  the 
government  and  particularly  that  the  captain  of  industry 
must  not  be  prevented  from  following  his  natural  bent: 
—  in  short,  upon  a  fear  that  governmental  interference 
meant  the  repression  of  industrial  activity.  The  indi- 
vidualism of  the  Fathers  grew  out  of  the  fear  of  political 
absolutism.  The  individualism  of  the  last  half  century 
grew  out  of  the  fear  of  business  depression  or  repression. 
The  individualism  of  the  Fathers  was  based  upon  an  ideal 
of  liberty:  the  later  form  upon  an  ideal  of  industrial 
production. 

It  is  not  to  be  presumed,  however,  that  the  current  phil- 
osophy was  wholly  individualistic.  The  interference  of 
the  state  in  the  establishment  of  the  protective  tariff  was 
not  unwelcome.  On  the  contrary,  governmental  action 
was  vigorously  demanded.  Many  of  the  economists  dur- 
ing this  period,  notable  among  them  Sumner,  contended 


326  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

for  "  free  trade,"  but  the  dominant  statesmen,  the  ruling 
political  party,  and  the  business  interests  in  general,  were 
closely  identified  with  a  program  of  tariff  legislation  and 
subsidies  for  the  up-building  of  American  industries. 
Nor  was  it  regarded  as  socialism  for  the  government  to 
grant  large  tracts  of  land  to  railroads  as  bonuses  for  the 
construction  of  new  lines,  or  to  guarantee  or  to  pay 
their  bonds.  Nor  were  subsidies  for  the  stimulation  of  a 
merchant  marine  regarded  as  contrary  to  the  principles 
of  laissez  faire. 

Likewise  in  dealing  with  large  combinations  of  capital 
in  the  form  of  trusts,  the  principle  of  individual  indus- 
trial competition  was  not  uniformly  defended.  It  was 
commonly  held  that  municipal  and  other  public  utilities 
should  be  governed  by  the  principle  of  monopoly;  and 
that  competition  was  impracticable  and  undesirable  in 
this  field.  It  was  commonly  held  that  "  pooling  "  was 
necessary  and  desirable,  and  that  governmental  inter- 
ference with  the  consolidation  of  railroads  was  unwar- 
ranted. In  opposition  to  proposed  legislation  in  restraint 
of  corporations,  it  was  frequently  asserted  that  the  prin- 
ciples of  individual  competition  had  broken  down,  and 
that  of  large  combinations  or  monopolies  must  necessarily 
take  its  place. 

Far-reaching  modifications  of  the  individualistic  idea 
appeared  during  the  last  half  century,  and  particularly 
during  the  last  quarter  of  the  century.  The  growth  of 
great  cities,  the  development  of  the  trust  and  the  labor 
union,  the  increasing  fund  of  scientific  knowledge  regard- 
ing social  conditions,  all  tended  to  force  a  readjustment 
of  the  position  of  lines  of  thought.     Evidence  of  this  is 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  327 

found  on  every  hand :  —  in  the  platforms  of  political 
parties,  in  the  legislation  of  the  States  and  of  the  nation, 
and  to  a  limited  extent  in  the  decisions  of  the  courts,  and 
in  the  formulation  of  systematic  doctrines.^* 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  began  the  great  struggle 
for  railway  control,  which  shook  the  foundations  of 
state  and  national  politics  for  a  generation.  It  is  true 
that  the  currency  problem  raised  the  question  of  govern- 
mental control  over  the  nation's  money,  and  consequently 
the  question  of  the  proper  sphere  of  government.  But 
the  contest  over  the  regulation  of  railroad  rates  and 
service  was  much  sharper,  and  as  far  as  public  opinion 
went,  more  successful.  The  verdict  was  soon  reached 
that  the  extraordinary  situation  demanded  extraordinary 
remedies,  and  that  governmental  supervision  of  railway 
enterprise  was  necessary  and  justifiable  in  the  common 
interest.  To  this  conclusion,  of  course,  the  fact  that  the 
government  had  granted  lands  and  given  bonuses  to  the 
railroads  materially  contributed.  The  theory  of  the  right 
to  public  regulation  of  business  affected  with  a  public 
interest  was  finally  given  recognition  in  the  famous 
Granger  Cases  in  1876,  and  later,  in  the  creation  of  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  in  1887,  after  a  Con- 
gressional struggle  extending  over  twenty  years.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  period  public  attention  was  directed  to 
the  enforcement  and  administration  of  the  act,  and  lat- 
terly toward  the  subject  of  governmental  ownership  of 
the  railway  system. 

Overlapping  the  struggle  for  railway  control  came  the 

23  See  Jeremiah  Jenks,  "  Governmental  Action  for  Social  Wel- 
fare, 1910." 


328  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

broader  question  of  corporate  activity.  How  far  should 
the  state  interfere  with  the  process  of  competition,  as 
seen  in  the  development  of  modern  business?  What  is 
unreasonable  or  reasonable  combination?  What  are  the 
limits  of  fair  competition  ?  What  is  just  as  between  com- 
petitors in  business  and  what  is  just  as  between  em- 
ployer and  employe  ?  The  many  and  complicated  phases 
of  this  problem  precipitated  a  long  and  violent  discussion 
over  industrial  facts  and  over  the  underlying  theory  of 
government.  When  the  interests  of  a  jobber  or  con- 
sumer clashed  with  the  manufacturer  the  issue  was  one 
thing.  When  the  small  business  clashed  with  the  big 
business,  it  was  another.  When  the  employe  clashed  with 
the  employer  it  was  still  another.  Thus  the  small  busi- 
ness man  would  fight  the  railroads'  high  rates,  or  the 
trust's  inteference  with  competition,  but  also  the  union's 
demands  for  higher  wages  or  shorter  hours.  That  the 
system  of  unrestricted  competition  had  broken  down  was 
generally  conceded,  but  the  type  of  public  restraint  and 
the  degree  of  public  control  were  subjects  of  nation-wide 
thought  and  discussion.  In  the  urban  problem,  in  the 
regulation  of  public  utilities,  in  the  shaping  of  new 
policies  of  social  hygiene,  in  the  regulation  of  professions, 
the  differences  were  less  sharply  expressed.  But  in  the 
regulation  of  industrial  relations  as  between  businesses, 
and  as  between  employer  and  employe,  the  most  widely 
divergent  views  appeared. 

Outside  the  field  of  industrial  controversy  there  is 
striking  evidence  of  a  quietly  developing  social  policy. 
The  marks  of  this  become  increasingly  clear  during  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century,  and  particularly  during  the 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  329 

last  decade.  Throughout  the  legislation  of  this  time  runs 
the  doctrine,  expressed  or  unexpressed,  of  the  greater 
need  for  collective  action.  In  city  government,  for  ex- 
ample, a  social  policy  appeared  in  the  activities  of  the 
health  and  building  departments  for  the  protection  of 
the  community  from  unsafe  and  unsanitary  conditions. 
Moving  in  the  same  general  direction  were  the  park  sys- 
tems, playgrounds,  recreation  facilities,  neighborhood  or 
social  centers,  the  far-reaching  developments  of  public 
education;  and  the  establishment  of  various  departments 
of  "  public  welfare." 

When  the  establishment  of  Central  Park  was  first  pro- 
posed in  New  York  City,  and  for  many  years  thereafter, 
the  plan  encountered  the  most  vigorous  opposition.  The 
park  was  denounced  as  an  aristocratic  institution  bor- 
rowed from  the  practice  of  the  nobility  abroad.  Seven 
years  after  the  establishment  of  the  Park,  the  New  York 
Herald  said :  "  It  is  all  folly  to  expect  in  this  country 
to  have  parks  like  those  in  old,  aristocratic  countries. 
When  we  open  a  public  park  Sam  will  air  himself  in  it. 
He  will  take  his  friends  from  Church  Street  or  elsewhere. 
He  will  knock  down  any  better  dressed  man  who  remon- 
strates with  him.  He  will  talk  and  sing  and  fill  his 
share  of  a  bench,  and  flirt  with  the  nursery  maids  in  his 
own  coarse  way.  Now,  we  ask,  what  chance  have  Wil- 
liam B.  Astor  and  Edward  Everett  against  this  fellow 

citizen  of  theirs?  Can  they  and  he  enjoy  the  same 
place?  "24 

Unquestionably  a  striking  evidence  of  a  community 

policy  has  been  the  development  of  city  planning  schemes. 

2*  Cited  by  F.  L.  Olmsted  in  "  Journal  of  Social  Science,"  III,  p.  28. 


330  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

In  New  York,  Chicago,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  prac- 
tically all  the  large  centers  of  the  country,  "  city  plans  " 
and  zoning  systems  have  been  outlined,  either  by  volun- 
tary associations  or  by  public  act.  These  plans  involve 
comprehensive  study  of  the  needs  of  each  local  com- 
munity with  respect  to  arrangements  of  streets,  parks  and 
public  places,  transportation,  housing  and  recreation 
facilities.  In  short,  they  constitute  an  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  city  to  regulate  and  control  its  own  growth  and 
development.  While  most  of  these  plans  have  thus  far 
been  only  imperfectly  executed,  they  show  a  distinct 
tendency  toward  conscious  social  control  through  govern- 
mental agencies.  They  are  indications  that  the  com- 
munity is  disposed  to  study  itself,  to  analyze  the  social, 
industrial  and  living  conditions  of  men  and  women  and 
to  apply  such  remedies  as  the  situation  may  indicate. 
Most  of  these  advances  have  not  been  made  as  a  result 
of  formulated  theory,  but  of  necessity  and  dictated  by  dis- 
tressing conditions.^^ 

In  the  field  of  state  government,  the  most  notable 
advance  toward  a  social-political  policy  has  been  made 
in  the  field  of  labor  legislation.  The  statutes  of  the  com- 
monwealths are  filled  with  provisions  concerning  employ- 
ers' liability  and  workmen's  compensation,  detailed  fac- 
tory and  workshop  regulations,  child  labor  protections, 
limitation  of  hours  of  labor  for  women,  and  in  certain 
trades  for  men,  and  in  some  instances  a  minimum  wage. 

25  Dr.  Eliot  attempts  to  distinguish  between  Collectivism  and 
Socialism  in  "  The  Conflict  Between  Industrialism  and  Collectivism 
in  a  Democracy"  (1910).  "Collectivism  has  no  general  theory  on 
that  subject  (ownership  of  all  means  of  production)  and  in  practice 
is  simply  opportunist  in  regard  to  it."     Pg.  2. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  33I 

While  these  statutes  are  in  no  sense  and  no  place  com- 
plete, yet  they  constitute  a  striking  advance  toward  a  col- 
lective policy.  They  appear  to  be  forerunners  of  a 
general  comprehensive  plan  of  social  legislation.  They 
are  significant  not  simply  because  of  what  they  actually 
embody,  but  of  what  they  seem  to  foreshadow  in  the  way 
of  future  accomplishment.  This  is  particularly  true  of 
such  acts  as  contemplate  or  provide  for  the  minimum 
wage,  civil  pensions  for  public  employes,  and  workmen's 
compensation. 

In  taxation  is  seen  another  significant  development  of 
democratic  control.  Of  particular  interest  here  is  the 
evolution  of  the  income  tax  and  of  the  inheritance  tax, 
both  of  which  made  their  way  against  overwhelming  dif- 
ficulties, but  were  finally  firmly  established  in  democratic 
theory  and  in  law.^*  The  "  public  purpose  "  of  taxation 
was  likewise  materially  broadened,  and  also  the  use  of 
the  right  of  eminent  domain.  The  area  of  the  special 
assessment  was  broadened  both  by  legislative  and  by  ju- 
dicial interpretation. 

In  the  federal  field  notable  legislation  has  been  en- 
acted regarding  hours  of  labor,  safety  appliances,  work- 
men's compensation,  and  still  more  conspicuously  in 
the  regulation  of  child  labor.  Furthermore,  the  far- 
reaching  policy  of  the  federal  government  in  regard  to 
internal  improvements,  protective  tariff,  and  the  wholesale 
distribution  of  the  public  domain,  may  all  be  classified 
under  the  broad  term  of  social  politics.  Fostering  manu- 
al Seligman,  "  Essays  on  Taxation  " ;  Max  West,  "  The  Inheritance 
Tax  " ;  Victor  Rosewater,  "  Special  Assessments  " ;  John  Lewis,  "  A 
Treatise  on  the  Law  of  Eminent  Domain." 


332  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

factures  by  governmental  action,  settling  a  vast  territory 
by  practically  free  grants  of  public  land,  stimulating  and 
developing  industry  and  agriculture  by  governmental 
grant  and  bonus,  financial  assistance  to  railroads,  are  all 
evidences  of  State  expansion  on  a  huge  scale.  The  op- 
position to  tariff  and  internal  improvements  was  not 
based  on  individualistic  grounds,  but  largely  on  the  con- 
stitutional principle  of  states'  rights,  or  the  economic 
theory  of  free  trade,  or  of  practical  abuses  in  the 
system. 

The  conservation  policy  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment stands  upon  the  same  basis.  In  this  case  there  is  a 
consciously  designed  plan  for  preserving  the  natural 
resources  of  the  country.  This  rested  partly  upon  the 
desire  to  avoid  evident  waste  of  assets,  and  partly  upon 
desire  to  prevent  control  by  special  as  opposed  to  general 
interests.  The  broad  policy  of  preserving  and  protect- 
ing the  nation's  water  power,  timber,  minerals,  and  other 
similar  resources,  is  an  illustration  on  a  large  scale  of 
drift  away  from  opposition  to  state  interference.^^ 

Analyses  of  the  function  of  the  government  were 
made  by  a  number  of  systematic  thinkers.  Among  them 
was  Woolsey,^*  who  divided  the  duties  of  the  govern- 
ment under  four  heads,  namely,  the  redress  of  wrongs, 
prevention  of  wrongs,  care  of  the  outward  welfare  of 
citizens  in  such  affairs  as  industry,  health  and  highways ; 
and  finally,  duties  in  regard  to  spiritual  matters.     In  all 

"See  Merriam:  "Outlook  for  Social  Politics  in  the  United 
States,"  in  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  i8,  676.  Charles  R.  Hen- 
derson, "  The  Social  Spirit  in  America,"  1901. 

28  "  Political  Science,"  Part  II,  Ch.  IV,  1877. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  333 

cases  he  believed  that  the  burden  of  proof  rested 
upon  those  who  proposed  any  additional  activity  of  the 
State. 

A  striking  instance  of  the  rapidity  of  the  change  in 
poHtical  theory  is  seen  in  a  copy  of  Woolsey's  "  PoHtical 
Science  "  given  to  the  University  of  Chicago  by  the  late 
Dr.  Henderson,  one  of  the  most  earnest  advocates  in  his 
later  years  of  an  active  social  program  on  the  part  of  the 
government.  In  his  discussion  of  the  sphere  and 
ends  of  the  state,  Woolsey  had  said,  "  It  may  enforce 
moral  observances,  may  protect,  and  even  institute  re- 
ligious worship,  and  may  provide  for  the  wants  of  the 
needy  and  distressed,"  On  the  margin,  under  date  of 
January  i,  1878,  Dr.  Henderson  had  written:  "I  pro- 
test." But  under  date  of  1894  he  had  written,  "  I  am 
not  so  much  under  Mr.  Spencer's  influence  now."  At 
the  end  of  his  life  there  was  no  more  active  and  success- 
ful advocate  of  state  action  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the 
needy  and  distressed  than  was  Henderson. 

A  significant  step  was  taken  in  1883,  when  Ward  at- 
tacked the  widely  current  doctrine  of  Spencer  ^®  and  his 
American  disciple  Sumner.  Ward  emphasized  the  im- 
portance of  psychic  forces  in  evolution  and  what  he 
termed  the  "  efficacy  of  effort "  as  a  cardinal  principle  of 
progress.  He  sharply  criticized  the  Spencerian  individ- 
ualism, urging  the  superiority  of  artificial  and  "  teleolog- 
ical  "  purposes  over  the  "  natural  "  or  genetic.  He  as- 
serted the  supremacy  of  the  principle  of  cooperation  over 
that  of  competition,  and  declared  in  flat  contradiction 

29  "  Dynamic  Sociology,  1883 ;  "  The  Psychic  Factors  of  Civiliza- 
tion," 1893 ;  "  Pure  Sociology,"  1903 ;  "  Applied  Sociology,"  1906. 


334  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

to  Spencer  that  "  individual  freedom  can  come  only 
through  social  regulation." 

In  1886  the  newly  formed  American  Economic  Asso- 
ciation declared  in  its  preliminary  statement :  ^^  "  We  re- 
gard the  state  as  an  educational  and  ethical  agency  whose 
positive  aid  is  an  indispensable  condition  of  human  prog- 
ress. While  we  recognize  the  necessity  of  individual  in- 
itiative in  industrial  life,  we  hold  that  the  doctrine  of 
laissez  faire  is  unsafe  in  politics  and  unsound  in  morals, 
and  that  it  suggests  an  inadequate  explanation  of  the  rela- 
tions between  the  state  and  the  citizens."  ^^  As  finally 
adopted,  this  statement  read:  "  We  regard  the  state  as 
an  agency  whose  positive  assistance  is  one  of  the  indis- 
pensable conditions  of  progress."  ^^ 

In  1887  Gen.  Walker,  the  leading  economist  of  his 
day,^^  referred  to  "  those  of  us  who  discerned  the  coming 
of  the  storm  and  removed  ourselves  and  our  effects  from 
the  lower  ground  of  an  uncompromising  individualism 
to  positions  somewhat  more  elevated  and  seemingly  se- 
cure." '*  It  must  be  noted,  however,  that  in  criticizing 
Mr.  Bellamy's  "  Looking  Backward  "  this  position  seemed 
to  be  somewhat  modified.  He  there  declared  that  "  per- 
fect competition  .  .  .  would  result  in  absolute  justice."  ^^ 
The  fact  is,  he  said,  "  many  persons  are  careless  to  the 

30  Publications  of  American  Economic  Association,  Vol.  I,  p.  6. 

31  See  Lewis  H,  Haney,  "History  of  Economic  Thought,"  1911. 
>  32  "  Proceedings  I,"  p.  35. 

33  See  the  enlightening  remarks  of  Prof.  H.  C.  Adams,  Johnston, 
White,  Seligman,  Clark  and  others. 

3*"  Discussions  on  Economics  and  Statistics,"  T,  344. 

"*  Atlantic  Monthly  65,  p.  248,  1890.  "  Mr.  Bellamy  and  the  New 
Nationalist  Party." 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  335 

point  of  absolute  dishonesty  in  charging  upon  the  organi- 
zation of  society  things  which  are  the  proper  effects  of  the 
constitution  of  nature  on  the  one  hand,  or  of  human  wil- 
fulness on  the  other." 

About  the  same  time  James,  who  seemed  to  represent 
the  general  view,  said,  "  We  do  not  regard  [the  state] 
as  a  merely  negative  factor  the  influence  of  which  is  most 
happy  when  it  is  smallest,  but  we  recognize  that  some  of 
the  most  necessary  functions  of  a  civilized  society  can  be 
performed  only  by  the  state,  and  some  others  most  effi- 
ciently by  the  state ;  that  the  state,  in  a  word,  is  a  perma- 
nent category  of  economic  life  and  not  merely  a  tem- 
porary crutch  which  may  be  cast  away  when  society  be- 
comes more  perfect.^^ 

A  significant  analysis  was  made  of  the  function  of  the 
state  by  H.  C.  Adams,  in  his  study  of  the  "  Relation  of 
the  State  to  Industrial  Activity,"  in  1887.  His  funda- 
mental position  was  that  neither  the  English  idea  of  the 
individual  as  supreme  nor  the  German  theory  of  the 
state  as  supreme  was  the  correct  view.  Both  state  ac- 
tivity and  individual  activity  are  in  reality  functions  of 
society  —  "  the  living  and  growing  organism,  the  ulti- 
mate thing  disclosed  by  an  analysis  of  human  relations." 
The  point  of  view  in  the  discussions  of  the  sphere  and 
duty  of  government,  therefore,  should  be  that  of  society 
rather  than  that  of  the  individual  or  the  state. 

Dunbar  denied  that  the  common  interpretations  of  the 
English  classical  and  political  economy  were  correct,  and 
held  that  neither  Adam  Smith  nor  his  successors  had  ever 

'"  Publications  American  Economic  Association,  Vol.  I,  p.  26. 


33^  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

occupied  a  position  of  unreasonable  hostility  to  state  ac- 
tivity.^''' He  flatly  contradicted  any  theory  that  laisses 
faire  was  a  "  part  of  the  logical  structure  of  the  old 
economic  doctrine." 

Wilson  in  his  "  State  "  laid  down  the  general  principle 
that  the  state  should  do  nothing  which  was  "  equally  pos- 
sible under  equitable  conditions  to  optional  associa- 
tions." ^^  He  distinguished  between  what  he  termed  "  in- 
terference "  on  the  part  of  the  state,  and  "  regulation,"  the 
latter  involving  an  equalization  of  conditions  in  all 
branches  of  endeavor.  The  limit  of  such  activity,  he  be- 
lieved, was  that  of  "  necessary  cooperation,"  the  point  at 
which  such  enforced  cooperation  becomes  a  convenience 
rather  than  an  imperative  necessity.  This  line  may  be 
difficult  to  trace,  but  nevertheless  must  be  drawn.^® 

W.  W.  Willoughby  ^^  analysed  the  governmental  func- 
tion into  activities  relating  to  the  life  of  the  state  and  the 
preservation  of  internal  order,  activities  relating  to  the 
preservation  of  human  liberty,  and  activities  relating  to 
the  general  welfare.  From  another  point  of  view  he  di- 
vided state  activities  into  the  essential  and  nonessential. 
Under  the  **  essential  "  he  included  protection  of  the  state 
against  external  attack,  maintenance  of  internal  order, 
preservation  of  the  national  life.  Under  the  "  nonessen- 
tial "  he  included  "  the  economic,  industrial  and  moral  in- 
terests of  the  people."     The  "  nonessential  "  he  further 

ST  "  Reaction  in  Political  Economy " — Quarterly  Journal  of  EcO' 
nomics,  Vol.  I,  p.  i,  1886. 

3*  Sec.  1273. 

39  See  also  "Constitutional  Government  in  the  United  States"; 
and,  "An  Old  Master,  and  Other  Essays." 

*o"The  Nature  of  the  State,"  1896;  "Social  Justice,"  1900. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  337 

divided  into  the  "  socialistic,"  including  the  operation  of 
railways  and  similar  public  properties,  and  under  the 
"  non-socialistic  "  he  included  supervision  over  labor  and 
education,  and  duties  which  if  not  performed  by  the  state 
would  be  left  undone.  Each  function,  said  Willoughby, 
must  rest  upon  its  own  utilitarian  basis  rather  than  upon 
a  priori  theory.  He  predicted  the  expansion  of  the  func- 
tions of  the  state  in  view  of  the  tendencies  of  modern  life. 

Garner  divided  the  work  of  the  state  into  the  functions 
that  are  "  necessary,"  those  that  are  "  natural  and  nor- 
mal "  but  not  necessary,  and  finally  those  "  neither  natural 
nor  necessary."  The  latter  he  termed  doubtful  factors.*^ 
In  the  last  group  he  included  a  variety  of  services  mainly 
economic  and  intellectual,  such  as  the  management  of 
public  utilities,  tariffs,  social  insurance,  and  labor  legisla- 
tion. The  general  presumption  is  against  such  inter- 
ference, but  still  the  "  state  should  be  an  instrument  of 
social  and  economic  progress." 

Philosophers  undertook  to  show  that  there  is  no  real 
conflict  between  society  and  the  individual,  but  that  they 
are  complementary  factors  and  not  contradictory.*^  On 
the  whole,  there  is  no  general  antagonism  between  the 
individual  and  society.  The  individual  is  shaped  in  and 
to  some  extent  by  society,  but  there  is  no  inherent  ground 
of  opposition  between  these  organic  parts  of  the  same 
whole. 

*i  James  W.  Garner,  "Introduction  to  Political  Science,"  p.  318. 

*2  Compare  Warren  Fite,  "Individualism,"  191 1.  Josiah  Royce, 
"  The  World  and  the  Individual,"  1901.  J.  M.  Baldwin,  "  The  Indi- 
vidual and  Society,"  191 1.  Edward  S.  Ames,  "The  Higher  Indi- 
vidualism," 1915. 


338  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

In  almost  all  of  these  thinkers  there  is  a  definite  de- 
parture from  the  type  of  individualism  which  had  char- 
acterized the  first  half  of  the  19th  century.  In  fact,  they 
abandoned  the  earlier  idea  of  the  "  police  state  "  and  sub- 
stituted in  its  place  the  later  doctrine  of  the  "  general 
welfare "  state.  They  were  not  willing  to  confine  the 
activity  of  the  government  to  the  condition  characterized 
by  Huxley  as  "  anarchy  plus  the  policeman."  On  the 
contrary,  they  recognized  that  under  modern  conditions 
the  range  of  governmental  activity  must  be  widened  in 
order  to  meet  the  new  problems  arising.** 

As  the  question  of  a  governmental  program  became 
more  acute  still  further  doctrines  were  developed. 
Croly  **  protested  against  what  he  termed  the  negative 
theory  of  government.  "  Unless,"  said  Croly,  "  democ- 
racy is  a  hypocritical  delusion,  it  seeks  not  human  re- 
pression, but  human  expansion."  *^  American  political 
organization  must  therefore  be  adapted  to  the  realization 
of  the  affirmative  rather  than  of  negative  public  pur- 
poses. Again  he  says :  "  The  state  lives  and  grows  by 
what  it  does  rather  than  by  what  it  is.  Its  integrity  must 
be  a  creation  rather  than  a  permanent  possession."  De- 
mocracy, therefore,  must  possess  a  social  program  if  the 
promise  of  American  life  is  to  be  fulfilled.  It  must  be 
prepared  to  follow  wherever  the  democratic  ideal  leads. 

*^  With  these  writers  it  is  interesting  to  compare :  Michel,  "  L'Idee 
de  I'Etat,"  in  which  he  reviews  the  doctrines  of  the  French  individ- 
ualists during  the  19th  century,  and  Barker,  "  Political  Thought  in 
England  from  Spencer  to  To-day." 

**  "  Promise  of  American  Life  " ;  "  Progressive  Democracy." 

"  "  Progressive  Democracy,"  p.  415. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  339 

The  government  must  be  flexible  enough  to  adapt  itself 
to  new  situations  under  which  democracy  must  suffer, 
unless  the  state  can  readjust  its  lines  of  activity.'** 

In  the  same  spirit  wrote  Lippman.^'^  Unless,  said  he, 
"  a  political  movement  is  woven  into  the  social  movement, 
it  has  no  importance."  The  government  must  be  fitted 
for  a  policy  of  constructive  action  and  be  prepared  to 
carry  through  such  a  policy  wherever  it  may  lead.  The 
indictment  against  politics,  he  says,  is  not  its  corruption, 
but  its  lack  of  might. 

The  liberal  statesmen  likewise  formulated  new  prin- 
ciples of  political  action.  Roosevelt  declared  for  "  a 
policy  of  more  active  governmental  interference  with 
social  and  economic  conditions  in  this  country  than  we 
have  yet  had."  We  are  face  to  face,  he  says,  "  with  new 
conditions  of  the  relation  of  property  to  human  welfare, 
chiefly  because  certain  advocates  of  the  right  of  property 
as  against  the  rights  of  men  have  been  pushing  their 
claims  too  far."  It  is  important  that  property  should  be 
the  servant  and  not  the  master  of  the  commonwealth. 
Citizens  of  the  country  must  effectively  control  the  mighty 
commercial  forces  which  they  have  themselves  called  into 
being.  Roosevelt  constantly  emphasized  and  reempha- 
sized,  however,  the  importance  of  personal  qualities  of 
self  reliance,  initiative  and  individual  responsibility.  He 
constantly  urged  not  only  the  activity  of  the  state,  but 
the  aggressive  action  of  the  individual  citizen  himself. 
Of  the  man  who  is  down  he  says,  "  Give  him  a  chance, 

*^  See  Chap.  5,  "  The  New  Economic  Nationalism." 
*7  "  A  Preface  to  Politics  " ;  "  Drift  and  Mastery." 


340  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

but  do  not  push  him  up,  if  he  will  not  be  pushed,  .  .  . 
If  he  lies  down  it  is  a  poor  job  to  try  to  carry  him." 

In  the  "  New  Freedom  "  (1913)  Wilson  discussed  the 
significance  of  the  democratic  spirit  rather  than  the 
technique  of  governmental  organization  and  the  details 
of  a  social  program.  In  the  main,  however,  he  seemed 
to  hold  that  the  state  should  eliminate  artificial  obstacles 
to  free  competition.  The  "  hindrance  of  hindrances  "  he 
adopts  as  the  proper  policy  of  the  government  in  the  in- 
dustrial world.  The  task  of  the  government  must  be  to 
prevent  an  industrial  oligarchy  by  means  of  the  restora- 
tion of  competition.  Obviously  this  was  a  troadly 
outlined  policy,  intended  to  state  a  very  general  prin- 
ciple. 

Those  who  favored  individualism  and  those  who  sup- 
ported the  policy  of  governmental  action  as  a  rule  refused 
to  accept  the  creed  of  the  Socialists,  They  adopted  a 
modified  form  of  individualism  sometimes  going  under 
the  name  of  Collectivism.'*^  Thus  Mr.  Bryan,  notwith- 
standing his  attacks  upon  plutocracy,  wished  it  to  be  un- 
derstood that  he  was  an  individualist.  Socialism,  said 
he,  does  not  sufficiently  take  human  nature  into  account. 
It  assumes  more  unselfishness  that  can  be  safely  taken 
for  granted.  He  believed  in  the  "  spur  of  competition." 
The  trust  system  is  not  a  product  of  individual  or  in- 
dustrial liberty,  but  a  perversion  of  it,  caused  by  the  po- 
litical grant  of  special  privilege.  These  "  privileges " 
must  be  removed,  but  the  system  itself  is  essentially 
sound.  "  Political  liberty,"  said  Bryan,  "  could  not  long 
endure  under  an  industrial  system  which  permitted  a  few 

**  See  Elliot,  op.  cit. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  .  341 

powerful  magnates  to  control  the  means  of  livelihood  of 
the  rest  of  the  people."  *"  The  private  monopoly,  he  rea- 
soned, puts  unfair  odium  upon  individualism,  and  should 
be  abolished  in  the  interest  of  industrial  and  political  lib- 
erty. 

In  many  cities  public  utilities  such  as  waterworks  and 
electric  lighting  plants  were  placed  under  municipal  man- 
agement, while  in  many  others  there  was  a  bitter  con- 
troversy over  the  traction  system  in  particular.  These 
contests  were  particularly  common  during  the  last  half  of 
the  period  under  discussion.  In  the  national  field,  the 
difficulties  of  railway  control  led  to  the  discussion  of  gov- 
ernment ownership  and  in  this  controversy  the  function 
of  the  state  was  discussed  freely.  But  the  tendency  was 
to  subordinate  the  theoretical  aspects  of  the  case  to  more 
practical  considerations  regarding  financial,  engineering 
and  service  features  of  the  specific  problems.^"  Bryan 
was  the  leading  theoretical  advocate  of  government  own- 
ership of  railways  but  he  did  not  press  his  argument  vig- 
orously after  his  initial  statement  on  his  return  from 
Europe. ^^  There  were  many  advocates  of  government 
ownership  as  a  means  of  securing  freedom  from  the  po- 
litical as  well  as  the  economic  activities  of  the  railway 
magnates. ^^ 

Municipal  ownership  of  public  utilities  was  hotly  con- 
tested, but  the  theoretical  arguments  played  relatively  a 

<»"  Speeches,"  II,  88.  Edith  M.  Phelps,  "Selected  Articles  on 
Government  Ownership  of  Railroads,"  1919. 

^0  C.  S.  Vrooman,  "American  Railway  Problems,"  1910;  A.  Van 
Wagenen,  "  Government  Ownership  of  Railways,"  1910. 

"1 "  Speeches,"  II,  p.  92,  1906. 

52  See  Vrooman,  op.  cit. 


342  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

small  part  in  the  disciission.^^  Advocacy  of  the  exten- 
sion of  the  function  of  the  city  was  presented  by  Bemis,^* 
Howe,^'  Parsons, °'  Zeublin,''''^  and  others.  In  general, 
the  theory  rested  upon  the  corruption  of  city  government 
by  public  utilities,  inadequacy  of  service,  the  relation  be- 
tween transportation  and  municipal  growth,  and  the  be- 
lief that  city  ownership  would  make  possible  more  demo- 
cratic government.  Municipal  ownership  was  opposed 
by  Meyer,^^  Porter  ^^  and  many  others  whose  arguments 
turned  chiefly  on  the  incompetence  and  corruption  of  mu- 
nicipal governments.  The  general  tendency  at  the  close 
of  the  period  was  toward  a  discussion  upon  local  grounds 
with  relatively  little  reference  to  general  theories.^® 

53  Don  Lorenzo  Stevens,  "  Bibliography  of  Municipal  Utility  Reg- 
ulation and  Municipal  Ownership,"  1918,  p.  221. 

s*  Edwin  W.  Bemis,  "  Municipal  Monopolies,"  1899. 

55  Howe,  "  The  City,  the  Hope  of  Democracy,"  1905. 

56  Frank  Parsons,  "The  City  for  the  People"  (1901). 

57  Zeublin,  "  Municipal  Progress,"  1902. 

58  Hugo  Meyer,  "  Municipal  Ownership  in  Great  Britain,"  1906. 

59  R.  P.  Porter,  "The  Dangers  of  Municipal  Trading"  (London), 
1907. 

80  See  Beard,  "  American  City  Government,"  Chap.  VIIL 


CHAPTER  XII 
GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  (Continued) 

The  ecclesiastical  organizations  reflected  the  underly- 
ing tendency  toward  broader  social  interpretation  of  the 
duties  of  the  community.^  Immediately  after  the  War 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  and  other  eminent  divines  had 
sharply  called  attention  to  the  serious  abuses  arising  from 
the  rapidly  increasing  inequalities  of  wealth.  But,  in 
general,  the  ecclesiastical  forces  had  not  actively  partici- 
pated in  the  struggle  for  social  and  political  readjust- 
ment^ The  controversy  between  science  and  religion  fol- 
lowing the  publication  of  Darwin's  epoch-making  theo- 
ries of  evolution  attracted  wide-spread  interest  during  the 
early  years  of  this  period,  and  much  of  the  intellectual 
energy  of  the  day  was  consumed  in  this  struggle.^*     0th- 

1  It  is  not  intended  to  discuss  here  in  any  detail  the  broad  field  of 
religious  forms  and  forces  in  the  United  States  since  the  Civil  War. 
This  is  a  subject  of  great  interest  and  importance  which  it  is  to  be 
hoped  may  soon  be  fully  studied  and  interpreted.  I  am  indebted  to 
Dr.  Shailer  Matthews,  Father  Husslein  and  Rabbi  Hirsch  for  valu- 
able suggestions,  although  they  are  not  responsible  for  what  is  stated 
here. 

2  See  A.  B.  Hart,  "National  Ideals,"  Ch.  XI.  "The  American 
Church."  H.  K.  Carroll,  "  The  Religious  Forces  of  the  United 
States,"  1893;  Leonard  W.  Bacon,  "A  History  of  Christianity" 
(1897)  in  American  Church  History  Series,  Vol.  XIII;  Graham 
Taylor,  "  Religion  in  Social  Action,"  1913. 

2» Andrew  D.  White,  "The  Warfare  of  Science";  John  Fiske's 
"  Life  and  Letters." 

343 


344  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

erwise  the  institutional  developments  abroad  and  at  home 
were  of  chief  interest  —  the  growth  of  foreign  missions, 
the  development  of  the  Sunday  School,  of  various  forms 
of  Christian  fraternal  organization,  such  as  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.,  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  and  the  Christian  Endeavor  socie- 
ties. Religious  interests  were  also  divided  during  this 
period  by  the  introduction  of  a  much  larger  element  of 
the  Catholic  faith  and  by  the  infusion  of  the  Jewish  ele- 
ment. Some  of  the  clergy  mingled  in  the  radical  move- 
ment of  the  '70's  and  '8o's  and  some  were  allied  with  the 
later  development  of  Christian  socialism.  Many  more 
were  actively  engaged  in  warfare  upon  intoxicating 
liquors,  gambling  and  prostitution,  and  in  various  "  re- 
form "  movements.^ 

In  the  course  of  a  generation,  however,  the  attitude 
of  aloofness  forward  social  and  industrial  problems  was 
gradually  changed  to  one  of  much  more  lively  interest; 
and  then  into  a  tendency  toward  constructive  participa- 
tion in  the  movement  for  social  readjustment.  The  be- 
ginnings of  this  new  movement  were  seen  in  the  appear- 
ance of  Christian  Socialism  in  the  '8o's  corresponding  to 
the  contemporary  development  in  Europe.^  This  move- 
ment made  considerable  headway  in  the  United  States, 
although  its  effects  were  more  powerful  indirectly  than 

8  See  Wilbur  F.  Crafts,  "Practical  Christian  Sociology"  (1895), 
for  a  complete  catalogue  of  "  reform." 

*  See  W.  H.  Freemantle,  "The  World  as  the  Subject  of  Redemp- 
tion," (1883),  published  1892  with  introduction  by  Ely.  Compare 
Ernst  Troeltsch,  "  Gesammelte  Schriften,"  I,  "Die  Soziallehre  des 
Christlichcn  Kirche,"  1912.  Paul  Monroe,  English  and  American 
Christian  Socialism,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  Vol.  I,  50. 
George  D.  Herron,  "  The  Christian  Society,"  1894,  and  other  works. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  345 

directly.  Its  influence  was  felt  in  the  attention  given  to 
the  study  of  social  problems  and  in  the  impulses  toward 
social  reform.**  Ely's  work  in  this  field  was  notable. 
He  warned  the  church  of  the  alienation  of  the  wage- 
workers,  and  pointed  out  that  the  gospel  "  is  both  individ- 
ual and  social."  Later  there  was  much  more  detailed 
discussion  regarding  the  causes  and  remedies  for  social 
discontent  and  out  of  this  came  the  adoption  of  a  much 
more  definitely  social  point  of  view.  This  was  early  re- 
flected by  Washington  Gladden,®  later  by  Henderson,'' 
Rauschenbusch,®  Taylor,  Abbott,  and  others  and  vigor- 
ously and  decisively  by  Shailer  Matthews.®  These 
thinkers  emphasized  the  necessity  of  modifying  the  indi- 
vidualistic attitude  in  dealing  with  problems  of  social  or- 
ganization and  urged  with  great  force  the  importance  of 
a  broad  social  point  of  view. 

In  some  instances  denunciation  of  the  attitude  of  the 
churches  was  unsparing.  Vedder  charged  that  the 
"  bastard,  cringing,  sycophantic  thing  that  our  age  calls 
Christianity  is  nothing  else  than  the  organized  worship 

^  See,  "  The  Social  Aspects  of  Christianity,"  1889. 

•  "  Applied  Christianity,"  1887 ;  "  Social  Facts  and  Forces,"  1897 ; 
"  The  New  Industry,"  1905 ;  Christianity  and  Socialism,"  1905 ;  "  The 
Church  and  Modern  Life,"  1908 ;  "  The  Forks  of  the  Road,"  1916. 

^  "  The  Social  Spirit  in  America." 

*  "  Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis,"  1907. 

» "  The  Making  of  To-morrow,"  1913 ;  "  Social  Teaching  of 
Jesus,"  1897. 

10  See  also  Charles  Stelze,  "  American  Social  and  Religious  Con- 
ditions," 1912;  "The  Church  and  Labor,"  1910;  Charles  S.  McFar- 
land,  "The  Christian  Ministry  and  the  Social  Order,"  1909; 
G.  B.  Smith,  "Social  Idealism  and  the  Changing  Order";  J. 
W.  Buckham,  "  Progressive  Religious  Thought  in  America,"  Ch. 
IV. 


34<5  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

of  mammon  ";^^  that  Christianity  "has  been  and  is  the 
religion  of  the  possessing  class  "  and  teaching  capitalistic 
ethics  as  an  inseparable  part  of  their  religion. ^^  Others 
were  not  far  behind  him  in  this  spirit.  In  1908  the  Fed- 
eral Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America  adopted 
a  notable  program  of  social  activity  to  which  the  organi- 
zation was  committed  and  in  behalf  of  which  a  widespread 
agitation  was  carried  on.^^* 

On  the  other  hand  a  strongly  individualistic  posi- 
tion was  taken  by  many  of  the  clergy,  particularly  during 
the  earlier  part  of  the  period.  This  attitude  continued 
to  be  evident  down  to  the  end  of  the  period  under  dis- 
cussion. 

Peabody,  contending  that  many  changes  in  social 
conditions  were  both  necessary  and  desirable,  pointed  out 
that  "  Religion  cannot  become  a  sociological  or  economic 
scheme,  which  substitutes  a  change  in  social  conditions 
for  a  change  in  human  hearts."  ^^  After  all  the  chief  de- 
fects in  life  according  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus  are  not 
"  mechanical,  but  moral."  Hillis  emphasized  the  import- 
ance of  individual  regeneration  with  greater  force. ^^  A 
certain  controversy  arose  between  the  advocates  of 
"  Evangelism  "   and  those  who  contended   for  a  social 

11  Henry  C.  Vedder,  "  Socialism  and  the  Ethics  of  Jesus,"  1913 ; 
"  The  Gospel  of  Jesus  and  the  Problem  of  Democracy,"  1914. 

12  Compare  Harry  F.  Ward,  "  Social  Creed  of  the  Churches,"  1912. 
"  Social  Evangelism,"  1915. 

12a  E.  B.  Sanford,  "Origin  and  History  of  the  Federal  Council  of 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America,"  1916. 

13 "  The  Approach  to  the  Social  Question,"  1900;  "Jesus  Christ 
and  the  Social  Question,"  1900. 

1*  N.  D.  Hillis,  "  The  Fortune  of  the  Republic,"  1906,  especially 
Ch.  V. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  347 

program.  The  Evangelists  held  in  substance  that  the 
prime  purpose  of  the  church  was  to  save  the  individual 
soul,  and  that  emphasis  should  be  laid  upon  the  individual 
will  and  spirit,  while  the  social  reformers  contended  that 
the  church  could  not  ignore  the  social  and  industrial  evils 
of  the  day.  Some  Evangelists  objected,  for  example,  to 
ecclesiastical  action  upon  the  peace  treaties,  constitutional 
prohibition,  the  social  effects  of  cooperation,  the  problem 
of  educational  betterment,  promotion  of  democracy,  the 
solution  of  the  trust  problem,  and  promotion  of  political 
efficiency,  all  of  which  they  contended  were  outside  the 
scope  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  "  Is  it  not,  then,  it 
was  said,  of  the  greatest  importance  that  we  guard  the 
pure  evangel  from  accretions  that  may  turn  us  aside 
from  our  great  mission  and  dissipate  energies  on  the  per- 
ishing things  of  time  when  they  should  be  concentrated 
on  and  consecrated  to  the  mighty  things  of  eternity?" 
The  objects  of  the  social  program  while  possibly  desirable 
had  the  effect,  they  thought,  of  "  turning  the  forces  of 
the  church  into  many  side  channels  and  so  weakening 
the  forces  of  her  one  supreme  call  to  save  men  for  time 
and  eternity."  ^^ 

At  the  same  time  there  were  notable  developments  of 
interest  in  social  problems  both  in  the  Catholic  Church 
and  in  Judaism,  both  of  which  were  increasingly  repre- 
sented in  American  life.  In  both  of  these  religions 
there  were  strong  social  survivals.  The  Catholic  Church 
in  particular,  was  officially  opposed  to  Socialism,  but  not 
to  a  social  program.     In  both  there  was  a  distinct  ten- 

15  "  The  Churches  of  Christ  in  Council"  (1916),  I,  26,  quoting 
action  of  Presbyterian  Church  (South). 


348  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

dency  toward  a  broad  social  point  of  view,  in  dealing  with 
modern  industrial  and  political  problems.^® 

Notable  in  this  direction  were  the  writings  of  Father 
Ryan,  particularly  the  volume  on  "  A  Living  Wage " 
(1906),^^  and  Father  Husslein  on  "  The  Church  and  So- 
cial Problems,"  1901.^^  In  general,  their  position  was 
midway  between  socialism  and  individualistic  laisses  faire 
—  criticising  both  as  destructive  of  religion,  morality  and 
social  progress.^® 

These  developments  were  in  accord  with  the  general 
Catholic  movement  in  the  field  of  social  and  industrial 
relations,  ^^  although  in  many  instances  there  was  a  not- 
able socialistic  development.^^     In  1888  there  was  held 

^^  James  MacCaflfrey,  "  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  19th 
Century,"  II,  4,  11,  12;  Merwin-Marie  Snell,  "The  Catholic  Social 
Reform  Movement  in  America";  Ajh.  Journal  Soc.  V.,  16-50  (1900). 
See  also  the  volumes  of  the  American  Catholic  Quarterly  Reziew, 
1876- ;  The  Catholic  World,  1864- ;  America,  1909-,  for  numerous 
articles  on  social  problems. 

1^  John  Augustus  Ryan,  "  The  Morality  of  the  Aims  and  Methods 
of  the  Labor  Unions,"  Am.  Cath.  Quart.,  29,  326;  and  articles  in  the 
Catholic  Encyclopaedia  (1907)  on  "Individualism";  "Labor  and 
Labor  Legislation  " ;  "  Labor  Unions."  See  also  Central  Blatt  — 
Social  Justice  for  numerous  discussions.  In  1913  a  Catholic  School 
of  Sociology  was  established. 

1*  Joseph  Husslein;  also  the  "World  Problem,"  1918,  and  "Dem- 
ocratic Industry,"  1919. 

18  Compare  Wm.  J.  Kerby,  The  Cath.  Quart.  Rev.,  28,  227,  521,  on 
"  Reform  and  Reformers "  and  "  Social  Reform."  Le  Socialisme 
aux  Etats  Unis  1897.  ^o  See  also  "  Political  Economy "  of  E.  J. 
Burke,  1913 ;  S.  J.  Ming's  "  The  Morality  of  Modern  Socialism," 
1909;  "The  Characteristics  and  the  Religion  of  Modern  Socialism," 
David  Goldstein,  "  Socialism,  the  Nation  of  Fatherless  Children," 
1903;  A.  Preuss,  "The  Fundamental  Fallacy  of  Socialism,"  1908. 

21  Francesco  Nitti,  "  The  Catholic  Socialists,"   1908. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  349 

the  International  Congress  of  Catholic  Socialists,  but  this 
movement  tended  to  blend  into  the  social  reform  stream, 
after  the  latter  had  gained  headway  in  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury. 

Likewise  Judaism  was  represented  in  the  general  tend- 
ency toward  the  modification  of  current  individualism.^^ 
Many  of  its  lay  representatives  were  conspicuous  in  the 
struggle  for  social  reform  and  socialism,^^  and  prominent 
representatives  of  the  ecclesiastical  organization  were  a 
part  of  the  general  process  by  which  the  function  of 
the  state  in  social  and  industrial  amelioration  was 
widened.^* 

On  the  whole,  there  is  evident  a  distinct  change  in  the 
ecclesiastical  attitude  toward  social  and  political  problems, 
corresponding  to  the  liberal  movement  in  politics  and  law. 
The  pressure  of  economic  and  social  conditions  was  as 
clearly  traceable  here  as  elsewhere. 

Not  only  was  this  true  of  the  industrial  problem,  but  in 
dealing  with  the  liquor  traffic,  the  supremacy  of  the  gen- 
eral welfare  over  individual  interest  was  distinctly  em- 
phasized. Acting  under  the  police  power,  drastic  regula- 
tion of  individual  conduct  was  demanded  and  obtained, 

22  Boris  D.  Borgen,  "Jewish  Philanthropy,  1917.  ^^  Cohen,  I., 
"Jewish  Life  in  Modern  Times,"  1914;  Jacobs,  J.,  "Jewish  Contribu- 
tions to  Civilization,"  1919;  Levi,  L.  N.,  "The  Intellectual  and  Eth- 
ical Development  of  the  American  Jew,"  1889.  24  David  Philipson, 
"The  Reform  Movement  in  Judaism,"  1907,  p.  492  cites  the  Rabbin- 
ical Conference  at  Pittsburg,  1885 :  "  In  full  accordance  with  the 
spirit  of  Mosaic  legislation  which  strives  to  regulate  the  relation  be- 
tween rich  and  poor,  we  deem  it  our  duty  to  participate  in  the  great 
task  of  modern  times,  to  solve,  on  the  basis  of  justice  and  righteous- 
ness, the  problems  presented  by  the  contrasts  and  evils  of  the  present 
organization  of  society." 


350  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

on  a  large  scale.  "  Personal  liberty  "  was  not  accepted  as 
a  valid  objection  to  regulation  in  the  social  interest,  and 
all  theories  of  individualism  yielded  to  political  regulation 
of  the  traffic  in  intoxicants.  Nor  was  compensation  for 
private  property  used  in  the  business  either  offered  or  ac- 
cepted. On  the  contrary,  property  devoted  to  such  uses 
was  held  to  be  employed  at  the  owner's  peril,  in  the  face 
of  impending  regulation. 

The  prohibition  movement  throughout  this  entire  pe- 
riod was  an  impressive  illustration  of  the  willingness  to 
subordinate  the  individual  to  the  general  interest,  where  a 
principle  was  involved.  Unquestionably  it  played  a  sig- 
nificant part  in  the  modification  of  general  theory,  even 
though  it  often  had  no  direct  connection  with  the  social 
movement. 

The  trades  union  movement  which  began  to  develop 
most  rapidly  in  the  "80' s  was  neither  revolutionary  nor 
political  nor  socialistic.  Its  philosophy  and  policy  were 
opportunist  and  its  ultimate  goal  was  never  clearly  formu- 
lated. Before  the  Senate  Committee  on  Education  and 
Labor,  in  1883,  Strasser,  representing  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor,  said,  "  We  have  no  ultimate  ends.  We 
are  going  on  from  day  to  day.  We  are  fighting  only  for 
immediate  objects  —  objects  that  can  be  realized  in  a  few 
years."  ^^  The  political  activities  of  the  unions  were  lim- 
ited, their  formal  legislative  program  was  not  elaborate, 
and  they  did  not  rely  largely  upon  political  action  or  gov- 

25  Cited  by  Commons,  II,  309.  See  the  noteworthy  document  of 
Ira  Seward,  "  The  8-hr,  Movement,"  1865 ;  "  Poverty,"  1873 ;  also 
John  Swintons,  "  Live  Burning  Questions,"  1885 ;  Adolph  Douai, 
"  Hard  Times,"  1877 ;  Wendell  Phillips,  "  Foundation  of  the  Labor 
Movement,"  1871 ;  "  The  Labor  Question,"  1872. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  35 1 

ernmental  aid  to  obtain  their  demands.  Public  owner- 
ship of  public  utilities  was  endorsed.^'  Various  political 
proposals  were  approved  or  disapproved,  but  neither  po- 
litical action  as  a  fixed  policy  nor  Socialism  as  an  eco- 
nomic or  political  program  was  accepted. ^'^ 

The  Socialist  theory  of  the  function  of  the  state  ap- 
peared early  in  the  United  States  and  was  a  considerable 
factor  in  public  thought,  especially  during  the  last  twenty- 
five  years. ^*  Here,  as  elsewhere,  in  the  19th  century 
there  were  devolopments  of  Utopian  socialism,  scientific 
socialism,  revolutionary  and  evolutionary  socialism,  state 
socialism,  communistic  and  anarchistic  socialism.  Es- 
pecially in  the  '70's  and  '8o's  these  groups,  though  small 
in  number,  were  bitter  in  their  struggles. 

Socialism  in  the  United  States  has  passed  through  a  se- 
ries of  phases.  In  the  first  half  of  the  19th  century, 
socialism  took  the  form  of  communistic  experiments  con- 
ducted by  various  groups.  Among  these  the  most  im- 
portant were  the  sectarian  communities,  and  the  Owenites, 
Fourierists,  and  Icarians.  Of  the  religious  colonies  the 
best  known  communities  were  those  of  the  Shakers,  the 
Amana  and  the  Qneida.^®     New  Harmony  was  the  most 

26  "  Proceedings,"  1896,  p.  84. 

27  See  chart  of  labor-organization  in  U.  S.  in  Brissenden,  "  The 
I.  W.  W,"  p.  384. 

28  John  R.  Commons,  "History  of  Labor  in  U.  S.";  Morris 
Hillquit,  "  History  of  Socialism  in  the  United  States,"  1903 ;  J.  H. 
Noyes,  "History  of  American  Socialism,"  1870;  Richard  T.  Ely, 
"The  Labor  Movement  in  America,"  1886;  John  Macy,  "Socialism 
in  America,"  1916;  A.  H.  Simons,  "Social  Forces  in  American  His- 
tory," 1912 ;  Werner  Sombart,  "  Socialism  and  the  Social  Move- 
ment." 

2»  Commons,  John  R.,  "  Horace  Greeley." 


352  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

pretentious  of  the  Ovvenite  period  and  Brook  Farm  of  the 
Fourierists.  In  the  latter  movement  such  men  as  Horace 
Greeley,  Channing,  Dana  and  Emerson,  were  deeply  inter- 
ested. These  communistic  undertakings  were  the  work 
of  religious  groups,  or  of  humanitarian  idealists  who 
hoped  to  see  the  regeneration  of  society  successfully  in- 
augurated on  a  small  scale.  In  none  of  these  instances, 
however,  were  the  expectations  of  the  enthusiastic  pro- 
moters realized. 

The  struggle  over  slavery  cut  across  these  movements, 
and  after  the  War  they  were  not  revived;  their  place  was 
taken  by  "  proletarian "  socialism.  During  the  early 
part  of  this  period.  Socialism,  losing  its  early  hold  on 
native  Americanism,  allied  itself  alternately  with  radical 
reform  movements  on  the  one  hand  and  on  the  other  with 
various  forms  of  international  socialism.  In  the  ranks 
of  the  Socialists  there  were  found  from  time  to  time  those 
who  favored  party  political  action  and  those  who  pre- 
ferred violent  revolution,  those  who  preferred  direct  in- 
dustrial action,  those  who  favored  state  socialism,  and 
those  who  favored  anti-authoritarian  or  communistic  so- 
cialism.^" In  this  way  they  followed  the  general  Euro- 
pean divisions  between  those  who  believed  Socialism 
would  be  brought  about  largely  by  trades  unions'  co- 
operation, those  who  held  primarily  to  political  meth- 
ods, and  the  communistic  anarchists  who  believed 
in  revolution  as  the  means  and  Communism  as  the 
end. 

'°  See  Hillquit  for  a  narration  of  the  vicissitudes  of  the  Socialist 
Party  from  the  organization  of  the  Social  party  in  1868  to  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Socialist  Party  in  1901 ;  also  Commons,  Vol.  II  op.  cit. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  353 

At  the  outset,  the  Liberal  Republicans,  the  Greenback- 
ers,  the  liberal  reformers  and  the  single  taxers  absorbed 
the  interest  and  attention  of  many  of  the  socialists  and 
various  combinations  were  made.  From  time  to  time 
they  plunged  into  political  action  and,  again,  were  per- 
suaded of  the  uselessness  of  the  ballot  and  fell  back  upon 
educational  propaganda,  on  direct  industrial  action,  or  in 
some  instances  upon  revolution  and  violence.  In  the 
'8o's  came  the  development  of  Christian  Socialism,  a 
movement  which  endeavored  to  develop  the  socialistic 
program  under  the  auspices  of  religion.^^  Since  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Socialists  from  the  United  Labor  Party  in 
1887  the  field  of  parliamentary  action  has  been  steadily 
cultivated. 

During  this  period  the  socialistic  theory  of  industry 
and  the  state  has  been  expounded  by  many  American 
disciples  of  Karl  Marx.  Among  these  are  Hillquit, 
Simons,^^  Berger,^^  Kelly,-'^^  Debs,^^  Hunter,^*'  Spargo, 
Walling,^''^  Russell,^^  Nearing,^^  and  a  long  series  of 
others.'*"     In  the  main,  however,  there  is  found  in  these 

3^  John  Spargo,  "  Christian  Socialism  in  America " ;  American 
Journal  of  Sociology,  Vol.  XV,  15. 

32  "  Social  Forces  in  American  History." 

33 "  Broadsides." 

3*  Edmund  Kelly,  "  Government  or  Human  Evolution,"  1900. 

35  "  The  American  Movement."     "  Life,  Work  and  Speeches,"  1908. 

3c  Robert  Hunter,  "Poverty,"  1904;  "Socialists  at  Work,"  1908; 
"  Violence  and  the  Labor  Movement,"  1914. 

87  "  Progressivism  and  After." 

38  C.  E.  Russell,  "Lawless  Wealth,"  1908;  "Business,"  1911. 

39  Scott  Nearing,  "Social  Adjustment,"  191 1;  "The  New  Educa- 
tion," 1915. 

*»  Including    Upton    Sinclair,    "The   Industrial    Republic,"    1907; 


354  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

writings  little  variation  from  the  early  theories  of  Marx 
and  such  European  modifications  as  had  been  made 
from  time  to  time  in  orthodox  Marxian  socialism. 
They  believed  in  the  ultimate  breakdown  of  the  competi- 
tive capitalistic  system  and  were  ready  to  substitute  for 
it  some  plan  of  collective  ownership  of  the  means  of 
production.  There  were  some  here  as  in  the  European 
countries  who  believed  in  a  socialistic  economic  and  po- 
litical program  as  a  necessary  basis  for  the  "  higher  indi- 
vidualism." They  reasoned  that  no  individual  can  truly 
be  free  unless  he  enjoys  economic  rights  and  liberties, 
and  that  this  result  can  come  only  through  the  socialist 
system. 

By  far  the  most  widely  read  of  the  American  Socialists 
was  Edward  Bellamy,  whose  volume  on  "  Looking  Back- 
ward," published  in  1888,  was  very  generally  circulated 
and  was  the  basis  of  the  formation  of  the  Nationalist 
Party.'*^  His  Utopia  rested  upon  a  military  organization 
in  which  all  were  obliged  to  render  service.  The  period 
of  industrial  activity  extended  from  the  age  of  twenty-one 
to  the  age  of  forty-five,  after  which  the  individual  retired 
from  active  industrial  duties.  The  government  of  the 
society  was  to  be  vested  in  officers  and  generals  selected 
by  the  various  departments  of  industry  and  a  president 
chosen  from  among  the  heads  of  departments  by  a  vote 
of  all  the  men  of  the  nation  who  are  not  connected  with 
the  industrial  army. 

Of  the  theory  of  socialism,  John  Spargo  was  a  leading 

A.  K.  Lewis,  "  The  Rise  of  the  American  Proletarian,"  1907;  Vida  D. 
Scudder,  "Socialism  and  Character"  (1912). 
•*^  See  also  his  "  Equality." 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  355 

exponent  *^  and  in  his  numerous  writings  he  expounded 
with  great  fluency,  force  and  skill  the  socialistic  doctrine. 
He  held  in  the  main  to  Marxian  socialism,  but  refused 
to  regard  his  writings  as  a  "  sacred  book,"  preferring  an 
evolutionary  view  of  socialist  theory. 

In  Spargo's  theory,  there  will  be  no  revolution  neces- 
sary to  establish  socialistic  system,  but  gradual  growth 
and  evolution.  The  state  will  not  be  abolished,  but  it 
will  cease  to  be  a  class  instrument  and  become  a  genuine 
agency  for  general  welfare.  Private  property  will  not 
disappear  altogether,  nor  will  individual  freedom  in 
choice  of  occupation  be  destroyed,  nor  entire  equality  of 
wage  established.  Socialism  will  not  be  a  vast  system 
of  regimentation,  oppressing  the  individual  citizen,  but 
will  give  him  a  wider  range  of  freedom  and  choice  than 
he  now  possesses.  Socialism  opposes  the  theory  of  anar- 
chy that  there  can  be  liberty  without  law,  sustained  by 
force,  and  is  hostile  to  the  communistic  theory  of  indus- 
trial self-government  by  groups,  independent  of  state  con- 
trol. Nor  is  socialism,  as  he  conceives  it,  hostile  either  to 
the  family  as  an  institution  or  to  the  church,  notwith- 
standing unauthorized  individual  utterances  to  this  effect. 
Religion  is  a  private  affair  for  the  individual,  while  the 
monogamous  family  is  rooted  in  soil  which  socialism 
would  not  affect. 

Walling  ^'  sharply  criticized  the  proposals  of  social 

*2 "  Socialism,"  1906;  "Common  Sense  of  Socialism,"  1908;  "The 
Spiritual  Significance  of  Modern  Socialism,"  1908;  "The  Socialists," 
J908;  "The  Substance  of  Socialism,"  1909;  "Karl  Marx,"  1910; 
"Sidelights  on  Contemporary  Socialism,"  1911;  "Applied  Social- 
ism," 1912;  "Socialism  and  Motherhood,"  1914. 

*8Willoughby  Walling.     See  also  his  interesting  study  on  "The 


356  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

reform,  contending  that  the  purpose  and  effect  of  these 
regulative  measures  would  be  to  preserve  the  institution 
of  capitalism,  to  maintain  the  system,  although  in  a  bet- 
ter and  more  humane  form,  nevertheless  fundamentally- 
undisturbed.  He  believed  that  the  reform  plans  of  wider 
state  activity  involved  nothing  more  than  an  intelligent 
"  efficiency  system  "  on  a  "  patriarchal  basis."  While  he 
did  not  oppose  directly  these  measures,  he  did  not  regard 
them  as  fundamental  or  final.  He  denounced  what  he 
called  the  "  capitalistic  reform  program  "  and  the  activi- 
ties of  the  so-called  revisionists,  reformers  and  "  German 
social-democrats  of  the  Berger  type."  The  new  reform 
programs,  says  he,  however  radical,  are  aimed  at  regen- 
erating capitalism,  and  the  net  result  will  be  to  establish 
another  form  of  economic  feudalism,  patriarchism  or  pa- 
ternalism. 

Edmund  Kelly,  attorney  and  man  of  affairs,^*  under- 
took an  elaborate  defence  of  collectivism,  illustrating  his 
arguments  with  many  illustrations  drawn  from  the  bio- 
logical world.  The  whole  purpose  of  society,  says  Kelly, 
is  to  correct  the  inequalities  of  nature,  to  undo  the  cruelty 
and  injustice  of  blind  natural  forces,  to  substitute  an  arti- 
ficial human  society  in  which  equality  and  fraternity  may 
be  genuinely  recognized.  For  this  purpose  the  existing 
economic  machinery  is  inadequate  and  it  must  be  replaced 
by  a  new  order,  in  which  the  evils  of  competition  are  cor- 
rected and  restrained,  and  sounder  principles  of  social 
justice  established. 

Larger   Aspects   of   Socialism,"   1913;   "  Progressivism  and   After," 
J914;  "  Socialism  As  It  Is,"  1912. 
^*  Cf.  "  Government." 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  357 

For  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  most  militant  figure  in 
American  socialism  was  Eugene  V.  Debs,  repeatedly  the 
party  choice  for  President  of  the  United  States;  and  al- 
ways on  the  firing  line  of  aggressive  action.**  A  con- 
spicuous personality  and  an  able  orator,  he  was  not  pri- 
marily a  philosopher,  and  his  speeches  embody  the  usual 
doctrines  of  orthodox  socialism  adapted  to  political  agita- 
tion and  propaganda.  He  inclined  to  the  revolutionary, 
rather  than  the  evolutionary  group  of  the  party ;  and  was 
not  hopeful  of  the  methods  of  the  social  democracy. 

The  local  and  national  programs  of  the  socialists  called 
for  a  wide  extension  of  the  work  of  government.  As  im- 
mediate steps  they  demanded  the  public  ownership  of 
municipal  utilities,  the  ownership  of  railways  and  natural 
resources,  such  as  mines,  forests,  and  large  scale  industry. 
They  also  put  forward  a  program  of  social  legislation 
covering  the  field  of  working  and  living  conditions,  and 
industrial  insurance  in  its  various  forms.  In  many  in- 
stances socialists  scored  local  successes  in  elections,  not- 
ably in  Milwaukee,  but  obviously  were  unable  to  under- 
take a  socialistic  program  on  a  large  scale. 

While  the  socialist  theory  of  the  state  was  at  no  time 
or  place  widely  adopted,  nevertheless,  it  deeply  influenced 
the  general  course  of  political  thought  in  America.  This 
was  particularly  true  during  the  last  quarter  of  the  cen- 
tury, after  the  severance  of  the  alliance  with  international 
anarchism.  In  the  main  it  was  the  doctrine  of  state  so- 
cialism —  the  authoritarian  rather  than  the  anti-authori- 
tarian type,   following  the  German  model  rather  more 

""Life,  Writings  and  Speeches,"  1908;  also  "Life  and  Letters" 
by  David  Karsner. 


358  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

closely  than  any  other,  just  as  the  trade-unionists  were 
more  nearly  like  the  English  type,  and  the  Syndicalists 
resembled  the  French  and  Italian  form,  while  the  An- 
archists preferred  the  Russian  ideal  as  far  as  it  had  been 
developed  at  that  time. 

The  anarchistic  doctrine  that  the  state  performs  no 
useful  function  and  should  therefore  be  destroyed  or  dis- 
solved has  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  America,  but 
has  not  struck  its  roots  deeply  into  our  soil.  Of  the 
three  groups  of  anarchism  all  have  been  found  here.  The 
type  that  springs  from  religious  individualism  was  repre- 
sented by  the  Antinomians  of  Puritan  days.  The  early 
Antinomians  of  Massachusetts,  a  religious  sect  who  held 
themselves  above  the  law  because  they  believed  that  the 
Christian  dispensation  had  set  them  free  from  the  law, 
were  practically  anarchists.  Their  activities,  history  re- 
lates, proved  most  embarrassing  to  their  Puritan  col- 
leagues of  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  Quakers  were  non- 
resistant  and  anti-militarists,  but  were  not  opposed  to  or- 
ganized government.  In  the  ante-bellum  days  among  the 
Abolitionists  there  developed  a  non-resistant  or  no-gov- 
ernment period,  and  the  sects  known  as  "  Come-Outers," 
Emancipationists  and  Perfectionists.  The  immediate  oc- 
casion of  their  activities  was  their  unwillingness  to  co- 
operate with  a  government  which  recognized  slavery  and 
made  a  human  being  a  chattel.  They  concluded  that 
men  must  "  come  out  "  of  the  state  or  any  other  organiza- 
tion the  spirit  of  which  was  anti-Christian.  Of  this 
creed  William  Lloyd  Garrison  was  the  most  striking 
figure.  The  noted  author,  Thoreau,  Abolitionist  and  in- 
dividualist, who  was  once  imprisoned  for  refusal  to  pay 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  359 

taxes,  said  that  a  prison  was  the  only  home  in  a  slave 
state  in  which  a  free  man  can  abide  with  honor.*^ 

The  development  of  anarchism  after  the  Civil  War  was 
based  upon  economic  rather  than  on  political  or  religious 
grounds.  It  was  largely  a  reflection  of  the  European 
types  of  anarchy  developed  by  Proudhon,  or  Max  Stir- 
ner,  the  anti-state-ism  evident  in  Karl  Marx,  and  later  the 
doctrines  of  the  Russian  revolutionist  Bakunin  and  the 
Black  International.^® 

The  anarchist  groups  were  divided  from  the  beginning 
into  the  philosophical  and  the  fighting  anarchists,  one  be- 
lieving in  the  attainment  of  anarchy  by  the  peaceful  pro- 
cesses of  evolution  and  the  other  by  the  employment  of 
force  and  by  revolution.  The  Black  International  as  the 
International  Workingman's  Association  was  called,  after 
its  capture  by  the  anarchists  in  1881,  was  represented  in 
the   United    States   by   little   known   adherents.     They 

<^  An  attempt  to  apply  anarchy  to  practical  affairs  was  made  by 
Josiah  Warren,  in  Utopia,  Ohio.  See  his  volume  on  "  Equitable 
Commerce,"  in  which  he  defines  labor  as  the  "  sovereignty  of  the 
individual "  and  demanded  the  abolition  of  all  government.  "  There 
should  be  no  such  thing  as  the  body  politic  ...  no  member  of  any 
body  but  that  of  the  human  family.  Every  man  should  be  his  own 
government,  his  own  law,  his  own  church,  a  system  within  him- 
self." Warren's  ideas  were  more  fully  developed  by  Stephen  Pearl 
Andrews,  in  "  The  Science  of  Society,"  or  "  The  True  Constitution 
of  Government  in  the  Sovereignty  of  the  Individual  as  the  Final 
Development  of  Protestantism,  Democracy  and  Socialism,"  1851. 

*^  Richard  T.  Ely,  "  The  Labor  Movement  in  America,"  1886;  Her- 
bert L.  Osgood,  "  Scientific  Anarchism,"  Political  Science  Quarterly, 
IV,  I ;  Morris  Hillquit,  "  History  of  Socialism  in  the  United 
States";  Zenker,  "Anarchism";  Eltzbacher,  "Anarchism";  Ohio, 
"  L'Anarchisme  Aux  Etats  Unis";  Commons  and  Andrews,  op.  cit. 
Vol.  II. 


36o  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

adopted  the  views  of  the  European  organization,  and 
held  to  the  doctrines  of  revolutionary  anarchism.  Jo- 
hann  Most,  expelled  from  the  German  Social  Democratic 
Federation,  arrived  in  the  United  States  in  1883,  and 
brought  with  him  the  propaganda  of  revolutionary  anar- 
chism in  its  most  violent  form.  His  ideal  was  a  loose 
federation  of  groups  of  producers,  each  self-governing 
and  without  any  superior  authority  over  them.  He  op- 
posed all  compromise  between  capitalism  and  anarchism, 
denounced  trades  unions  and  political  action,  and  urged 
revolutionary  violence.  He  believed  in  the  execution  of 
all  reactionaries  and  the  confiscation  of  all  capital.^^ 

The  Pittsburg  International  Working  People's  Associa- 
tion, adopted  a  platform  in  1883  in  which  the  most  sig- 
nificant planks  were  (i)  the  destruction  of  the  existing 
class  rule  by  all  means  —  that  is,  by  energetic  and  re- 
lentless revolutionary  and  international  action;  (2)  the 
regulation  of  all  public  affairs  by  free  contract  between 
the  autonomous  (independent)  interests  and  associations 
resting  on  federalistic  basis.  The  Chicago  anarchist  af- 
fair of  1886  caused  a  general  revulsion  from  the  princi- 
ples and  methods  of  revolutionary  anarchism  °*^  and  the 
influence  of  the  revolutionary  anarchists  declined,  while 
that  of  the  political  Socialists  and  trades  unions  increased. 

Emma  Goldman  was  a  well-known  figure  among  the 
active  anarchists.^ ^     Her   definition   of   anarchism   was 

*»  See  Host's  "  Science  of  Revolutionary  War,"  extracts  from 
which  were  reprinted  in  the  A'^.  £.  Reporter,  12,  894. 

^0  A.  R.  Parsons,  "  Anarchism,  Its  Philosophy  and  Scientific 
Basis,"  1887;  G.  A.  Schilling,  "Life  of  Albert  R.  Parsons,"  1903. 

51  "Anarchism  and  Other  Essays,"  1910;  "The  Social  Significance 
of  the  Modern  Drama,"  1914;  also  "Selected  Works  of  Voltairine 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  361 

"  the  philosophy  of  the  new  social  order  based  on  liberty 
unrestricted  by  man-made  law."  She  believed  that  all 
governments  rested  on  violence,  and  were  harmful  and 
unnecessary;  opposed  religion,  government,  and  private 
property;  and  expressed  the  opinion  that  woman's  suf- 
frage would  not  improve  conditions. 

Of  the  peaceful  anarchists  the  leading  figure  was  Ben- 
jamin Tucker,  editor  of  Boston  Liberty  for  many  years. 
His  ideas  were  expressed  in  a  volume  unconventionally 
entitled  "  Instead  of  a  Book,  By  a  man  too  busy  to  write 
one,"  (1893).  Tucker  acknowledged  his  theoretical  in- 
debtedness to  Proudhon,  Stirner,  Warren,  Krapotkin,  and 
others.  He  bitterly  denounced  Most  and  his  colleagues, 
whom  he  characterized  as  pseudo-anarchists,  robbers,  in- 
cendiaries, murderers,  and  common  criminals,  using  an- 
archism as  a  cloak  for  greed  and  crime.  Tucker  urged 
the  abolition  of  the  state  and  all  organization  upon  a  com- 
pulsory basis,  asserting  their  futility  and  undesirability. 
There  would  remain,  he  conceded,  a  defensive  associa- 
tion on  a  "  voluntary  basis  which  will  restrain  invaders 
by  any  means  that  may  prove  necessary."  Until  that  day 
passive  resistance  to  the  government  was  urged.  One 
may  pay  a  poll  tax  just  as  one  submits  to  a  highwayman, 
but  would  not  think  of  asking  him  for  a  receipt.**^ 

Dc  Cleyre,"  1914;  Alex  Berkman;  "Prison  Memoirs  of  an  Anar- 
chist," 1912 ;  Dyer  D.  Lum,  "  Economics  of  Anarchy,"  1892 ;  D.  I. 
Sturber   (H.  A.  Krouse),  "The  Anarchist  Constitution,"   1903. 

52  Reflecting  the  influence  of  Tolstoi,  Clarence  Darrow,  in  "  Re- 
sist Not  Evil"  (1903),  indicted  the  state  as  a  powerful  contributory 
cause  of  harm.  He  emphasized  particularly  tlie  evils  arising  from 
the  current  theories  and  methods  of  punishment  as  a  means  of 
obtaining   human   justice. 


362  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

On  the  whole,  anarchism  made  little  progress  in  Amer- 
ica as  a  political  theory.  There  was  widespread  disre- 
gard for  and  disobedience  of  law  in  many  individual  in- 
stances, but  the  adoption  of  a  systematic  philosophy  of 
no  government  was  not  common. ^^ 

Midway  between  anarchism  and  socialism  came  syndi- 
calism, represented  in  the  United  States  by  the  Industrial 
Workers  of  the  World. ^^  Syndicalism  grew  up  in 
France  under  the  influence  of  revolutionary  conditions  of 
more  than  a  century,  with  its  repeated  uprisings  of  the 
masses  not  only  to  obtain  political  democracy,  but  also 
forms  of  social  democracy,  as  in  the  days  of  '48  and  in 
the  Commune  of  the  '70's,  Syndicalism  adopted  the  eco- 
nomic theory  of  the  socialist,  a  political  theory  distrustful 

5'  See  Lysander  Spooner,  "  Letters  to  Grover  Cleveland " ;  Wil- 
liam H.  Van  Ornum,  "Why  Government  at  All?";  (1892).  See 
also  the  Anarchistic  publication,  "Mother  Earth";  Hutchins  Hap- 
good,  in  "The  Spirit  of  Labor"  (1907),  gives  an  interpretation  of 
anarchism ;  also  in  "  An  Anarchist  Woman,"  1909. 

"John  Graham  Brooks,  "American  Syndicalism;  The  L  W. 
W.,"  1913 ;  John  Spargo,  "  Syndicalism,  Industrial  Unionism  and 
Socialism"  (1913)  ;  P.  F.  Brissenden,  "The  L  W,  W."  (1919)  ;  John 
Macy,  "  Socialism  in  America,"  Chap.  IX ;  Werner  Sombart,  "  So- 
cialism and  the  Social  Movement,"  Chap.  V,  on  Revolutionary  Syn- 
dicalism; Louis  Lcvine,  "Labor  Movement  in  France,'  1912.  Bibli- 
ography, p.  208;  G.  G.  Groat,  "Organized  Labor  in  America,"  Ch. 
25-28  (1916)  ;  Robt.  Hunter,  "Violence  and  the  Labor  Movement," 
Ch.  10;  Arthur  D.  Lewis,  "Syndicalism  and  the  General  Strike" 
(1914);  R.  F.  Hoxie,  "Trade  Unionism,"  Ch.  VI;  Levine,  "The 
Development  of  Syndicalism  in  America,"  Pol.  Sc.  Quarterly,  28, 
451;  W.  Walling,  "Socialism  As  It  Is,"  Pt.  Ill,  Ch.  V-VI;  Helen 
Marot,  "American  Labor  Unions,"  Ch.  20;  J.  A.  Estey,  "Revolu- 
tionary Sjrndicalism,"  1913;  Proceedings  L  W.  W,  Conventions, 
1905-. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  3^3 

of  the  state  as  a  tool  of  capitalism,  and  a  modification  of 
the  direct  non-political  methods  of  the  trades  unionists. 
The  purpose  and  the  methods  of  syndicalism  diverged 
sharply  from  other  political  movements  and  ideals.  The 
goal  of  syndicalism  is  the  creation  of  a  society  made  up 
of  federated  and  self-governing  industries  somewhat  after 
the  fashion  of  the  communistic  anarchists  or  the  guild 
socialists.  Their  most  comprehensive  method  of  action 
is  the  general  strike,  which  it  is  believed  will  some  day 
usher  in  the  industrial  revolution  and  millennium. 

Another  weapon  is  sabotage,  or  the  deliberate  reduction 
of  the  output  by  various  devices  of  the  laborer,  theoreti- 
cally to  be  executed  without  loss  of  life  or  the  destruction 
of  material.  Syndicalism  is  marked  by  indifference  to 
political  action.  It  largely  abandons  parliamentary  ef- 
forts, believing  that  the  results  obtained  by  efforts  to  con- 
trol the  machinery  of  government  through  parties  and 
elections  are  not  commensurate  with  the  labor  involved. 
It  proposes  to  exert  power  "  at  the  seat  of  production," 
through  industrial  leverage,  which  is  regarded  as  more 
efficient  than  the  formally  political.  There  are,  however, 
varying  shades  of  opinion  upon  this  point.  The  "  left  " 
group  is  practically  anarchistic  in  theory,  while  the 
"  right "  is  much  more  distinctly  political  or  govern- 
mental in  tendency. 

In  America  this  movement  has  taken  the  form  of  indus- 
trial unionism.  It  has  proceeded  by  organization  of  in- 
dustries, rather  than  of  crafts,  including  all  the  workers 
of  a  given  plant  or  industry.  Of  this  group,  Haywood 
has  been  the  most  conspicuous  leader  in  a  situation  where 


364  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

organization  and  leadership  have  had  only  the  most  pre- 
carious existence. ^^ 

The  organization  and  scope  of  future  government  is  a 
matter  of  indifference  to  this  group,  although  crude  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  outline  such  a  form.  In  the 
main,  they  propose  to  ignore  the  government  and  "  gov- 
ernmentalism,"  and  to  obtain  their  ends  through  direct 
exercise  of  economic  power  and  pressure.  Their  ideal  of 
a  reorganized  society  is  but  vaguely  depicted  as  a  loose 
federation  of  industrial  groups,  indefinitely  organized. 
When  able  to  overthrow  capitalism,  they  anticipate  some 
form  of  industrialism  under  loose  group  control.  But 
the  question  regarding  the  exact  type  of  this  organization 
they  are  not  careful  to  answer.  In  the  United  States,  in- 
deed, there  has  been  but  little  philosophizing  on  the  sub- 
ject, while  in  France  and  Italy  there  has  been  a  consid- 
erable body  of  speculation.^®  But  even  here  two  groups 
have  arisen,  one  favoring  and  the  other  opposing  party  or 
political  action.^' 

The  significance  of  syndicalism  did  not  lie  in  the  nu- 
merical strength  of  its  supporters,  but  in  its  revelation  of 
a    fundamental    disturbance    in    the    social    world.     It 

"William  H.  Haywood,  "The  General  Strike,"  191 1;  Vincent  St. 
John,  "  The  I.  W.  W. :  Its  History,  Structure  and  Methods  " ;  "  Po- 
litical Parties  and  the  I.  W.  W.";  Wm.  E.  Trautmann,  "Direct  Ac- 
tion and  Sabotage " ;  U.  S.  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations, 
Vol.  H,  pp.  1445-1579;  Daniel  De  Leon,  "As  to  Politics,"  1907; 
Addresses  of  Ettor  and  Giovanitti  before  the  Jury  at  Salem,  Mass., 
1912. 

so  See  Winston  Churchill,  "The  Dwelling  Place  of  Light," 
based  on  the  Lawrence  strike,  for  a  literary  picture  of  Syndicalism. 

'''''  See  Brissenden,  op.  cit.  Appendix  II,  for  Detroit  and  Chicago 
plans  of  industrial  unionism. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  3^5 

marked  the  advent  in  America  of  a  new  spirit  which  was 
agitating  all  the  industrial  states  of  Europe.  Commonly 
the  disappointments  of  democracy  here  had  led  to  a  de- 
mand for  reforms  in  the  machinery, —  for  more  or  better 
organized  democratic  government:  or  for  a  livelier  civic 
spirit  or  a  higher  type  of  leadership.  Then  there  was  the 
demand  for  social  reform,  for  anti-trust  laws,  for  social 
legislation.  Beyond  that  came  the  socialist  movement  for 
political  action  to  capture  the  state  for  collectivism.  Syn- 
dicalism was  cynical  of  democracy,  suspicious  of  trade- 
unionism,  profoundly  scornful  of  socialism.  It  proposed 
by  mass  action  of  the  organized  workers  to  create  inside 
the  shell  of  the  old  state  a  new  order  of  economic  and 
social  justice,  and  finally  to  substitute  the  new  shell  for 
the  old.  These  ideas  were  latent  in  communistic  anar- 
chism and  in  anti-authoritarian  socialism,  but  in  syndical- 
ism they  found  a  new  industrial  basis  and  a  new  tech- 
nique of  action. 

It  is  quite  clear  that  the  prevailing  theory  during  this 
period  was  strongly  individualistic.  Yet  it  is  equally 
plain  that  material  modifications  were  made  in  earlier  in- 
dividualism as  the  twentieth  century  came  on.  Urban 
experience  and  industrial  pressure  from  the  trust  and 
the  union,  familiarity  with  new  forces  and  new  forms  of 
social  and  economic  life,  easily  led  to  a  broader  view  of 
the  work  of  the  government.  Hence  what  would  have 
been  termed  socialism  in  1870  was  generally  accepted  in 
1 9 10.  The  urgent  need  of  railroad  regulation,  the  de- 
mand for  corporate  control,  for  the  restriction  of  unfair 
practices  in  trade,  for  the  protection  of  workers,  to  meet 
the  needs  of  public  sanitations,  to  solve  the  pressing  urban 


366  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

problems:  all  combined  to  modify  the  earlier  theories  of 
hisses  faire.  Gen.  Walker  said  in  1889,  that  the  doctrine 
of  laisses  faire  had  been  more  strictly  held  in  the  U.  S. 
than  elsewhere.  The  formula  was  "  used  to  decide 
whether  a  man  were  an  economist  at  all."  ^®  By  1910, 
Sen.  Root  almost  agreed  with  his  position.  And  both 
were  favorable  to  its  modification. 

The  swift  improvement  in  means  of  transportation  and 
communication  brought  men  more  closely  together  than 
before.  The  massing  of  employees  under  the  factory 
system  developed  the  idea  of  cooperative  action,  while  in 
all  fields  organization  was  rapidly  developing.  In  agri- 
culture this  tendency  was  less  marked  than  elsewhere,  but 
in  business,  big  and  little,  and  in  labor,  association  and 
organization  were  widely  recognized  as  basic  principles. 
Men  came  to  work  in  groups  more  commonly  than  ever 
before.  Organized,  collective  action  took  the  place  of  in- 
dividual, isolated  action  in  a  large  section  of  human  con- 
duct. 

Ncr  can  it  be  forgotten  that  at  all  times  there  were 
other  large  fields  in  which  the  individualist  made  no 
strong  or  effective  protest.  In  the  field  of  morality, 
the  widest  interpretation  was  given  to  the  function  of 
the  state.  Laws  against  gambling  and  lotteries,  against 
prostitution,  against  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors, 
showed  no  tendency  toward  laissez  faire  or  any  weakness 
in  favor  of  "  personal  liberty,"  On  the  contrary,  sweep- 
ing regulations  were  regarded  as  necessary  restrictions 
of  the  individual,  and  were  passed  not  only  for  the  good 

^^ "  Discussions  in  Economics  and  Statistics,"  Vol.  I,  p.  328,  on 
"  Recent  Progress  of  Political  Economy  in  the  U.  S." 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  367 

of  the  community  but  for  his  own  benefit  as  well.  That 
they  were  unwarrantable  interferences  with  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  individuals  was  charged,  but  not  believed, 
either  by  the  legislature,  the  courts  or  the  electo- 
rate. "  Personal  liberty  "  as  a  slogan  was  not  effective 
here. 

Nor  was  the  plea  of  laisses  faire  effective  as  a  form  of 
protest  against  the  protective  tariff  or  governmental  sub- 
sidies, either  for  manufacturing  or  for  agriculture;  or 
against  any  other  activities  designed  to  promote  industrial 
prosperity  upon  a  large  scale.  There  was  no  abstract 
theoretical  opposition  to  these  projects  as  long  as  they  fol- 
lowed the  broad  line  of  promoting  and  fostering  trade  in 
private  hands.  On  the  contrary  it  was  deemed  the  duty 
of  the  government  to  promote  industry  and  prosperity. 
The  argument  based  upon  natural  law  and  economic  har- 
mony when  advanced  in  favor  of  free  trade  was  strongly 
repudiated  and  while  it  found  theoretical  defenders,  was 
never  dominant. 

Nor  was  this  a  period  of  broad  tolerance  of  conflicting 
social  and  political  ideals.  The  evolutionist  in  the  early 
part  of  the  period  and  the  socialist  or  radical  in  the  lat- 
ter part  often  struggled  hard  to  obtain  a  hearing  and  a 
status  in  the  democracy.  In  industrial  disturbances  free- 
dom of  speech  was  sometimes  sacrificed.  In  educational 
institutions  the  persecution  of  scholars  for  their  allegiance 
to  their  ideas  of  truth  and  social  justice  was  not  un- 
known. Not  infrequently  those  who  exalted  the  doctrine 
of  laisses  faire  in  one  field  of  activity  quietly  ignored  the 
same  principle  in  another.  Conflicting  standards  were 
often  applied  to  trust  regulation  and  "  prohibition,"  to 


368  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

"  municipal  ownership  "  and  to  sugar  subsidies,  to  anar- 
chism in  theory  and  lawlessness  in  practice. 

In  the  case  of  governmental  action  conflicting  with  the 
interest  of  industrial  groups,  the  plea  of  liberty  was 
promptly  and  more  effectively  made.  The  field  of  social 
and  labor  legislation  where  class  interests  seemed  to  clash 
was  indeed  the  only  one  where  the  struggle  over  liberty 
was  carried  on.  Here  singularly  enough  the  concept  of 
individual  liberty  was  defended  by  the  corporation,  a 
highly  compact  form  or  organization,  itself  often  reaching 
or  approaching  monopoly.  The  sharpest  application  of 
the  "  let  alone  "  policy  was  reserved  for  this  division  of 
legislation. 

Generally  speaking,  in  the  party,  in  the  corporation,  in 
the  union,  the  principles  of  association,  organization  and 
regimentation  were  the  order  of  the  day.  Organiza- 
tion and  discipline  as  well  as  individual  liberty  of  action 
were  now  the  standard  types  of  the  time.  Liberty  was 
a  formula  to  which  men  adhered,  but  its  application  was 
by  no  means  clear.  It  tended  more  and  more  to  pass 
from  a  purely  negative  idea  that  less  government  meant 
more  liberty,  to  a  positive  and  constructive  form  —  to  a 
doctrine  of  individual  and  social  advantage  gained 
through  the  government  or  through  organization.  Fear 
of  strong  government,  and  unbounded  belief  in  unre- 
strained competition,  both  declined;  and  in  their  place 
came  the  recognition  of  the  need  of  well  organized  and 
equipped  government,  with  broad  powers  to  regulate  un- 
fair competition  and  to  promote  social  efficiency  and  gen- 
eral welfare. 

In  America  as  elsewhere  this  was  the  transition  process 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LIBERTY  369 

by  which  the  form  of  democracy  was  filled  out  with  a  con- 
tent of  social  and  industrial  meaning.  It  was  the  recon- 
ciliation of  liberty  not  merely  with  government,  but  with 
the  grim  facts  of  industrial  and  social  life. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SYSTEMATIC    STUDIES    OF   POLITICS 

During  the  Revolution  and  in  the  first  generation  of 
the  Republic,  no  little  attention  was  given  to  the  study 
of  politics.  The  statesmen  of  the  nation  were  familiar 
with  the  best  products  of  the  world's  political  experience 
and  thought,  as  developed  at  that  time :  and  they  made 
free  use  of  them  in  the  formulation  of  their  political  phil- 
osophy and  in  the  practical  affairs  of  state. ^  Jefferson 
and  Adams  were  equally  at  home  in  the  field  of  political 
theory,  and  many  others  shared  the  same  interest  with 
them.  These  leaders  were  not  attempting  to  work  out  a 
science  of  politics,  but  they  were  acquainted  with  the  re- 
sults thus  far  achieved  in  this  direction. 

In  the  Jacksonian  era,  this  interest  declined  at  least  in 
the  world  of  politics,  although  reviving  in  the  form  of  so- 
cial and  economic  speculation.  Theoretical  discussions 
over  the  nature  of  the  Federal  Union,  regarding  the  status 
of  slavery,  and  upon  the  ideal  constitution  of  society, 
were  common.  Emerson  expounded  a  unique  philoso- 
phy. Brisbane  ^  undertook  a  science  of  society.  Trea- 
tises on  states'  rights  and  slavery  were  frequent,  and  the 
beginnings  of  the  study  of  political  economy  appeared. 

^  See  Merriam,  "  History  of  American  Political  Theories,"  Chap. 
II,  III. 

2  "  Social  Destiny  of  Man :  Or  Association  and  Reorganization  of 
Industry,"  1840. 

370 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  371 

But  on  the  whole  there  was  little  energy  expended  in  the 
study  of  systematic  politics,  in  comparison  with  the  con- 
temporary English  and  Continental  developments  in  so- 
cial science,  economics  and  politics,  where  the  rise  of  the 
science  of  society  under  the  inspiration  of  Auguste 
Comte,  and  of  Utopian  and  proletarian  socialism,  aroused 
general  interest  in  social  problems.  Here  the  juristic  as- 
pects of  federalism  and  the  discussion  of  the  anachronism 
seen  in  human  slavery  were  the  social  topics  most  widely 
discussed.  Democracy  was  taken  for  granted,  and  the 
chief  interest  was  in  its  practical  application  to  such  con- 
crete problems  as  suffrage,  governmental  structure,  and 
civil  rights. 

In  the  general  development  of  political  thought  many 
striking  changes  were  made  during  this  period.  Over- 
shadowing all  others  were  those  caused  by  the  discoveries 
of  Darwin  and  the  development  of  modern  science.  The 
Darwinian  theory  of  evolution  not  only  transformed  bio- 
logical study,  but  profoundly  affected  all  forms  of 
thought.  The  social  sciences  were  no  exception,  and  his- 
tory, economics,  ethics  and  politics  were  all  fundamentally 
altered  by  the  new  doctrine.  Both  individualistic  and 
socialistic  interpretations  and  conclusions  were  derived 
from  the  Darwinian  theory  by  various  thinkers.  Aris- 
tocratic and  democratic  philosophies  alike  found  support 
in  the  broad  doctrine  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest.^ 

Karl    Marx'    development    of    "  scientific "    socialism,- 

succeeding  the  Utopian  socialism  of  the  first  half  of  llie 

century,  also  deeply  affected  all  social  thinking.     Of  even 

greater  importance  than  his  more  strictly  and  technically 

3  David  G.  Ritchie,  "  Darwinism  and  Politics." 


372  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

economic  doctrines  of  surplus  value,  class  struggle,  ul- 
timate proletarian  success,  was  his  theory  of  the  economic 
or  social  interpretation  of  history.  This  theory  was  a 
challenge  to  the  foundations  of  all  institutions  and  ideas 
—  legal,  political,  economic  and  social  —  and  taken  in 
connection  with  other  parallel  movements  its  influence 
upon  human  thought  was  far-reaching.  The  work  of  the 
Webbs  in  England,  Bebel,  Bernstein,  Sombart  in  Ger- 
many, Jaures  in  France,  Vandervelde  in  Belgium,  Ferri 
in  Italy,  carried  further  on  the  Marxiati  doctrines  with 
modifications  in  technique,  but  with  substantial  agreement 
in  spirit  and  purpose,"*  Many  who  repudiated  his  eco- 
nomic conclusions,  consciously  or  unconsciously  followed 
his  social  interpretation  of  history,  at  least  part  of  the 
way. 

Another  notable  development  of  this  period  was  the 
beginning  of  a  study  of  society  in  more  formal  and  sys- 
tematic manner  than  ever  before.  Comte  and  Spencer 
laid  the  foundations  of  systematic  sociology,  and  their 
followers  undertook  to  develop  and  elaborate  this  system 
on  a  broad  scale.  Their  efforts  did  not  result  in  the 
creation  of  a  definite  science  of  society,  but  in  the  accum- 
ulation of  vast  masses  of  social  material,  schemes  of 
analysis  and  classification,  insights  into  various  phases 
of  social  activity,  and  the  development  of  a  social  point 
of  view.  Anthropology,  ethnology,  social  psychology, 
economic  geography,  all  produced  volumes  of  research 
and  inquiry,  joining  in  the  same  general  direction. 

One  of  the  striking  features  of  the  last  half  century '^ 

*  Ensor,  "  Modern  Socialism." 

"See  Woodbridge    Riley,   "American   Thought"    (1915) ;   L.   H. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  373 

in  America  was  the  greatly  increased  attention  to  the  sci- 
entific study  of  politics.  In  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
particularly,  this  tendency  was  very  clearly  marked. 
The  foundation  of  systematic  study  was  laid  by  Francis 
Lieber,  a  German  refugee,  who  came  to  America  follow- 
ing the  Revolution  of  1848,  and  was  for  many  years  a 
source  of  inspiration  in  inquiry  and  a  teacher  of  methods 
of  investigation.®  Following  Lieber  came  studies  of  the 
type  of  Mulford's  "Nation"  (1870),  a  striking  illus- 
tration of  the  intoxicating  effect  of  undiluted  Hegelian 
philosophy  upon  the  American  mind.  He  expounded  an 
entire  dialetics  of  democracy  in  the  abstract  and  theoret- 
ical form  of  the  German  mid-century  "  metapolitics." 
Brownson's  "  American  Republic "  ^  was  notable  as  a 
careful  exposition  of  American  political  doctrines. 

Beginning  about  the  '8o's  there  was  an  impetus  given  to 
the  systematic  study  of  political  problems  which  continued 
undiminished  in  force  down  to  the  end  of  this  period. 
Woolsey's  monumental  work  on  political  science  ap- 
peared in  1878,  Henry  George's  challenging  "  Progress 
and  Poverty "  in  1879,  Wilson's  encyclopaedic  "  The 
State  "  in  1889,  Bryce's  comprehensive  and  illuminating 

Haney,  "History  of  Economic  Thought,"  Ch.  32  (1911),  "Recent 
Economic  Thought  in  the  United  States";  A.  W.  Small,  "Fifty 
Years  of  Sociology  in  the*United  States  — 1865-1915,"  (1916)  ;  J.  F. 
Jameson,  in  the  Am.  Hist.  Rev.,  1910,  1-20,  traces  the  first  quarter 
century  of  the  American  Historical  Association  (1884-1909).  See 
also  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  American  Economic  Association  in 
"Publications,"  1910,  pp.  46-1 11. 

0  *' Political  Ethics,"  1838-9;  "Civil  Liberty  and  Self-Government," 
1853;  "Miscellaneous  Writings,"  2  vols.  1881. 

JO.  A.  Brownson,  1866.  See  also  "Constitutional  Government,'* 
1842 ;  "  Essays  and  Reviews,"  1852. 


374  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

work  on  "  The  American  Commonwealth  "  was  published 
in  1888,  and  Burgess'  formal  treatise  on  "  Political  Sci- 
ence and  Comparative  Constitutional  Law"  in  1891. 

The  examination  of  political  problems  was  also  under- 
taken by  various  scientific  organizations  during  this  pe- 
riod. Following  the  establishment  of  the  English  Social 
Science  Association  in  1856,  the  American  Social  Science 
Association  was  formed  in  1865.  It  included  in  its  mem- 
bership among  others  Edward  Atkinson,  Charles  Fran- 
cis Adams,  Agassiz,  Choate,  Evarts,  Godkin,  Walker, 
Wines,  Lea  and  political  leaders  such  as  General  Grant, 
Garfield,  Horace  Greeley,  and  Charles  Sumner.* 

The  American  Historical  Association  was  established 
in  1884.  A  forward  step  was  taken  in  1886,  when  the 
American  Economic  Association  was  founded  for  the 
systematic  investigation  of  industrial  problems;  the 
American  Statistical  Association  in  1888  (first  in  1839), 
the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science 
in  1889,  the  /Vmerican  Political  Science  Association  in 
1903,  the  American  Sociological  Society  in  the  same  year, 
and  the  American  Society  of  International  Law  in  1907. 
All  of  these  organizations  undertook  the  task  of  inquiry 
into  various  groups  of  social  problems,  with  great  en- 
thusiasm and  energy.  In  the  course  of  a  generation  they 
made  notable  contributions  to  the  sum  total  of  human 
knowledge  upon  questions  of  political  interest.* 

Johns  Hopkins  University  inaugurated  the  study  of 

*  See  Mary  E.  Sargent,  "  Sketches  and  Reminiscences  of  the  Rad- 
ical Club  of  Boston,"  1880.  Among  the  members  were  Emerson, 
Channing,  Wells,  James,  Fiske,  Holmes,  Higginson,  Shaler. 

®  Useful  compilations  were  those  of  Bliss,  "  Encyclopaedia  of  So- 
cial  Reform,"    1897 ;    Lalor,    "  Cyclopaedia   of    Political    and    Social 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  375 

"  History  and  Politics  "  in  1876.  The  Columbia  School 
of  Political  Science  was  founded  in  1880.  Many  other 
universities,  including  Harvard,  Pennsylvania,  Chicago, 
Wisconsin,  followed  in  the  development  of  departments  in 
which  the  problems  of  politics,  economics,  sociology  and 
history  were  analyzed  and  discussed  with  the  greatest  ac- 
tivity.*® The  study  of  government  both  in  graduate  and 
undergraduate  branches  of  the  universities  was  very 
widely  extended.  However,  in  high  schools  and  grades 
popular  instruction  in  the  elements  of  government  lagged 
behind  the  pace  set  in  the  more  advanced  work. 

The  undertakings  of  these  institutions  were  supple- 
mented in  the  earlier  part  of  the  twentieth  century  by 
various  private  foundations  on  the  one  hand,  and  by  state 
activity  upon  the  other.  Among  the  more  conspicuous 
of  the  private  endowments  were  the  Carnegie  Institution 
and  the  Sage  Foundation,  which  turned  their  attention  in 
part  to  the  governmental  questions  of  the  community.  In 
the  local  field,  the  New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Re- 
search led  the  way  in  undertaking  detailed  inquiries  into 
the  framework  and  function  of  municipal  governments, 
with  constructive  studies  for  their  betterment.  New 
York  was  followed  by  Chicago,  Boston,  Philadelphia, 
Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  and  other  cities. 

Furthermore,  there  were  begun  far-reaching  govern- 
mental  activities   in   the  collection   of   systematic   data. 

Science"  (1888-90)  ;  McLaughlin  &  Hart,  "Cyclopaedia  of  American 
Government,"  1914. 

1°  See  the  series  of  studies  published  by  Columbia,  Harvard,  Johns 
Hopkins,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Illinois,  Cahfornia,  and  other  uni- 
versities. 


376  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

The  Census  Bureau  was  a  mighty  instrument  for  this 
purpose.  ^^  But  other  governmental  organs  and  agencies 
were  also  freely  employed.  Here  was  set  up  the  ma- 
chinery of  social  observation  on  a  great  scale.  Here 
was  made  possible  the  observation,  the  collection  and  the 
classification  of  political  facts  on  a  scale  which  no  indi- 
vidual observer  working  alone  could  hope  to  accomplish. 
Year  by  year  new  schedules  were  perfected,  and  the  ac- 
curacy, comprehensiveness  and  value  of  the  reports  stead- 
ily increased.  While  it  cannot  be  said  that  full  advan- 
tage was  always  taken  of  the  possibilities  in  interpreta- 
tion and  use  of  this  material,  the  significant  fact  is  the  or- 
ganization of  a  gigantic  machine  for  social  observation, 
and  the  preliminary  advances  made  toward  comprehen- 
sive inquiry. 

Bulletins  and  analysis  of  legislation  were  also  prepared 
in  many  fields  of  governmental  work.  The  most  elabo- 
rate of  these  were  the  New  York  State  Library's  Review 
and  Digest  of  State  Legislation  and  Digest  of  Governors' 
Messages.  This  was  unfortunately  discontinued,  how- 
ever, and  was  not  revived  either  under  public  or  private 
auspices.^^  Many  bulletins  were  issued  by  branches  of 
the  Federal  Government,  however.  Legislative  reference 
departments  in  various  states  and  cities,  added  very 
greatly  to  the  classified  knowledge  available  to  the  law- 
maker, the  student  and  the  general  public  interested  in 
special  phases  of  legislation.  It  goes  without  saying  that 
the   commercial    interest    in   the   practice   of    law   soon 

*i  John  Koren,  "  History  of  Statistics  " ;  Richmond  Mayo-Smith, 
"  Statistics  and  Sociology,"  1895 ;  "  Statistics  and  Economics,"  1899. 
12  1890-1910. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  377 

brought  the  reporting  and  digesting  of  legal  cases  to  a 
high  point  of  efficiency. 

During  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  the  scope  and 
method  of  popular  government  have  been  subjected  to 
keen  analysis  from  many  sides. ^'  The  historical,  social, 
economic  and  cultural  meanings  of  democracy  have  been 
made  subjects  of  inquiry  by  many  earnest  investigators. 
The  list  includes  interpretations  in  terms  of  economics,  of 
ethics,  of  education,  of  philosophy,  of  sociology,  and  in 
broad  terms  of  social  democracy  in  the  most  liberal  use  of 
the  word.  Scientific  studies  of  value  were  made  by  many 
workers  in  the  field  of  formal  political  science ;  and  in 
related  fields  of  statistics,  sociology,  economics,  ethics, 
history,  philosophy  and  psychology,  notable  contributions 
were  made  to  the  knowledge  of  political  facts  and 
methods. 

The  first  systematic  study  on  politics  was  made  by 
Theodore  Woolsey,  whose  ponderous  volumes  on  "  Polit- 
ical Science,"  or  "  State,"  published  in  1878,  were  a 
weighty  contribution  to  systematic  politics.  Yet  these 
studies  were  based  on  lectures  delivered  by  Woolsey  in 
Yale  College  in  1846  to  187 1,  and  really  represented  the 
ante-helium  period.  His  work  was  broadly  divided  into 
three  sections  dealing  with  natural  rights,  the  theory  of 
the  state,  and  practical  politics,  following,  as  he  said,  the 
German  classification  of  Naturrccht,  Staatslehre  and  Pol- 
itik.  In  many  ways  Woolsey  was  influenced  by  Lieber. 
His  method  was  historical  and  comparative,  and  carried 

i«  See  "  Political  Economy  and  Political  Science,"  by  Sumner, 
Wells  and  others  (1881)  giving  bibliography  of  suggested  readings 
prepared  by  the  Society  for  Political  Education. 


Z7^  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

him  over  the  whole  field  of  political  speculation.  In  gen- 
eral his  theological  training  and  tendencies  led  him  to  em- 
phasize the  importance  of  ethical  principles  in  politics  and 
to  dwell  upon  the  great  significance  of  religion  and  moral- 
ity in  their  relations  to  political  thought  and  action. 

Woolsey  repudiated  the  classical  doctrine  of  "  natural 
rights,"  declaring  that  rights  implied  the  coexistence  of 
men.  Historically  the  state  arises  out  of  custom  and  us- 
age. Rationally  the  state  is  based  on  the  nature  and  des- 
tiny of  man,  and  the  fact  that  unorganized  he  could  make 
nothing  of  himself  or  of  his  "  rights."  The  state  "  is  as 
truly  natural  as  rights  are,  and  as  society  is,"  and  is  the 
bond  of  both.  It  is  the  means  for  all  the  highest  ends  of 
man  and  society. 

The  sphere  and  ends  of  the  state,  he  believed,  should 
be  limited,  but  by  no  means  confined  to  the  mere  legal 
rights  of  man.  The  state  may  reach  "as  far  as  the  na- 
ture and  needs  of  man  reach,  including  intellectual  and 
aesthetic  wants  of  the  individual,  and  the  religious  and 
moral  nature  of  its  citizens."  Yet  in  general  the  state 
ought  not  to  overstep  the  bounds  of  reason,  and  Woolsey 
was  particularly  emphatic  in  his  denunciation  of  com- 
munism and  socialism,  which  he  discussed  in  a  separate 
volume.^*  He  opposed  a  protective  tariff,  mightily 
feared  the  cities,  demanded  independence  in  party  affairs, 
defended  the  middle  class,  especially  in  the  rural  districts, 
and  looked  with  alarm  upon  many  of  the  growing  ten- 
dencies of  the  time,  such  as  urban  development,  immigra- 
tion, "  extreme  democracy."  ^^ 

^*  "  Communism  and  Socialism." 

15  Vol.    II,    141.    With    Woolsey    compare    George    H.    Yeaman, 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  379 

Following  Woolsey  came  the  systematic  work  of  John 
W.  Burgess.^^  Burgess'  method,  like  that  of  Woolsey, 
was  historical  and  comparative,  but  his  training  was  that 
of  the  historian  and  the  jurist.  Much  of  his  interest  cen- 
tered in  the  problems  of  comparative  public  law.  His 
fundamental  political  philosophy  was  much  influenced  by 
the  ideas  of  Hegel,  and  in  general  his  work  showed  strong 
traces  of  his  German  training  and  influence.  Burgess 
followed  the  current  political  theory  in  repudiating  the 
doctrines  of  natural  law  and  the  social  contract,  declaring 
that  they  were  wholly  contrary  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
historical  development  of  political  institutions.  The  so- 
cial contract  theory  assumes  "  that  the  idea  of  a  state  with 
all  its  attributes  is  consciously  present  in  the  minds  of  in- 
dividuals proposing  to  constitute  the  state,  and  that  the 
disposition  to  obey  law  is  universally  established."  ^^ 
These  conditions,  he  maintained,  are  not  found  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  political  development  of  the  people,  but  at 
the  end  of  a  long  process  of  experience  and  growth. 
This  theory,  therefore,  cannot  account  for  the  origin  of 
a  state,  although  the  doctrine  of  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned may  apply  to  a  people  politically  educated  and  con- 
sciously determining  the  form  of  their  own  government. 
That  there  are  legal  rights  and  liberties  outside  of  the 
state  Burgess  as  a  good  Austinian  regarded  as  inconceiv- 
able. The  only  liberty  possible  is  the  liberty  found 
within  the  political  society  and  protected  by  the  state. 

"  Study   of   Government,"    1871  ;    Robert   J.    Wright,    "  Principia  or 
Basis  of  Social  Science,"  1875. 

i«  "  Political  Science  and  Comparative  Constitutional  Law,"  1891. 

"Vol.  I,  162. 


38o  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Burgess  also  developed  the  doctrine  of  sovereignty, 
which  he  regarded  as  the  "  original,  absolute,  unlimited, 
universal  power  over  the  individual  subject,  and  all  asso- 
ciations of  subjects,"  the  most  fundamental  and  indis- 
pensable mark  of  statehood.  "  Really  the  state  cannot  be 
conceived,"  says  Burgess,  "  without  sovereignty,  i,  e., 
without  unlimited  power  over  its  subjects ;  that  is  its  very 
essence."  There  is  no  other  organized  power  which  can 
be  thought  of  as  limiting  the  state  in  its  control  over  its 
own  subjects.  Otherwise  the  authority  which  could  ex- 
ercise such  power  would  itself  be  sovereign.  This  un- 
limited power  on  the  part  of  the  state  is  not  an  inter- 
ference with  civil  liberty,  but  on  the  contrary  is  the  guar- 
antee and  protection  of  liberty,  and  the  more  completely 
sovereign  the  state  is  the  more  secure  is  the  liberty  of  the 
individual.  It  is  true  that  the  state  may  abuse  its  power 
and  wrong  the  individual  under  its  control;  but  on  the 
whole  the  national  state  is  the  human  organ  least  likely 
to  do  wrong. 

Reasoning  in  this  way.  Burgess  demolished  the  federal 
state  which  he  declared  to  be  an  impossibility.  What 
seems  a  federal  state  is  either  a  number  of  sovereign  states 
with  a  number  of  local  governments  and  a  common  cen- 
tral government,  or  one  sovereign  state  having  a  central 
government  and  several  local  governments.  In  any 
event,  the  sovereignty  is  indivisible,  and  must  rest  either 
with  the  nation  as  a  whole  or  with  each  of  the  several 
states.  In  this  respect  he  agreed  with  Calhoun,  but  drew 
the  diametrically  opposite  conclusion. 

Burgess  also  emphasized  strongly  the  mission  or  pur- 
pose of  the  state.     The  ends  of  the  state  are  government. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  381 

liberty,  the  development  of  national  genius  and  world- 
civilization.  These  ends  must  be  realized  in  this  his- 
torical order,  and  one  cannot  be  put  before  the  others. 
The  highest  form  of  the  state  has  been  reached  only  by 
the  Roman  and  Teutonic  peoples,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
undertake  the  political  civilization  of  the  world.  History 
and  ethnology  teach,  he  says,  that  the  Teutonic  nations 
are  the  political  leaders  of  the  modern  era,  that  "  in  the 
economy  of  history  the  duty  has  fallen  to  them  of  or- 
ganizing the  world  politically,  and  that  if  true  to  their 
mission  they  must  follow  the  line  of  this  duty  as  one  of 
their  chief  practical  policies."  Americans,  he  thought, 
might  be  unwilling  to  undertake  their  own  duties  and 
responsibilities,  but  in  the  long  run  their  political  genius 
would  make  it  necessary  for  them  to  assume  their  burdens. 

In  1885,  appeared  Woodrow  Wilson's  "  Congressional 
Government,"  an  epoch-making  essay  in  American  con- 
stitutional literature.  This  work  was  a  brilliant  criti- 
cism of  the  inefficiency  and  chaos  of  the  Congressional 
system,  and  a  plea  for  more  resj>onsible  government. 
"  In  any  business,  whether  of  government  or  of  mere 
merchandising,  somebody  must  be  trusted,"  he  said. 
Power  ^^  and  strict  accountability  for  its  use  are  the  es- 
sential constituents  of  good  government.  In  many  ways 
this  essay  both  in  content  and  in  form  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  that  had  appeared  upon  a  political  topic. 

In  1889  Wilson  published  a  volume  entitled  "  The 
State."  This  was  an  historical  and  comparative  study 
of  various  types  of  government  based,  as  the  author  states 
in  the  preface,  largely  upon  Marquardsen's  "  Handbuch 

"  P.  283. 


382  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

des  Oeffentlichen  Rechts  der  Gegenwart."  Throughout 
its  chapters  run  a  philosophy  of  law  and  government, 
subordinated,  however,  to  the  study  of  the  structure  and 
spirit  of  the  political  institutions  described.  His  po- 
litical ideas  were  further  expressed  in  "  An  Old  Master 
and  Other  Political  Essays"  (1893),  in  "Mere  Litera- 
ture" (1896),  in  "Constitutional  Government  in  the 
United  States"  (1907)  and  "The  New  Freedom" 
( 1913)  ;  and  numerous  addresses  and  papers.  The  chief 
significance  of  his  method  lay  in  the  importance  attached 
to  the  study  of  politics  as  made  up  of  living  facts  and 
forces,  institutional  as  well  as  constitutional,  organic 
rather  than  mechanical.  He  constantly  called  attention 
to  the  life  and  spirit  of  things  political,  to  the  actual  work- 
ings of  political  forces,  to  the  vital  processes  of  political 
life.  In  this  manner  he  discussed  the  workings  of  po- 
litical parties,  the  development  of  the  constitution,  the 
organic  interrelation  of  the  various  parts  of  government, 
the  importance  and  purpose  of  political  initiative  and 
leadership  in  a  democracy.  The  formal,  the  mechanical 
in  politics,  the  "  Newtonian  "  system,  as  he  termed  it,  he 
repeatedly  discussed  and  always  denounced. 

In  "  The  State  "  he  had  dealt  with  the  objects  of  gov- 
ernment, taking  a  middle  ground  between  individualism 
and  socialism. ^^  Individualism  "  has  much  about  it  that 
is  hateful,  too  hateful  to  last."  But  the  remedy  is  not  to 
destroy  competition  as  the  Socialist  urges.  "  It  is  not 
competition  that  kills,  but  unfair  competition  —  the  pre- 
tence and  form  of  it  where  the  substance  and  reality  of  it 
cannot  exist."     The  state  must  control  all  combinations 

"Chap.  15. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  383 

or  monopolies  which  put  or  keep  "  indispensable  means 
of  industrial  or  social  development  in  the  hands  of  a  few, 
and  these  few  not  the  few  selected  by  society  itself,  but 
the  few  selected  by  arbitrary  fortune."  Outside  of  nat- 
ural monopolies  the  state  must  also  equalize  competitive 
conditions  where  the  individual  cannot  act  effectually, 
as  in  the  case  of  child  labor,  unsanitary  factory  condi- 
tions, hurtful  employment  of  women,  limitation  of  hours 
of  labor. 

Later  in  his  "  New  Freedom,"  as  already  indicated, 
he  elaborated  somewhat  the  doctrine  that  one  of  the  chief 
purposes  of  the  state  is  to  prevent  interference  with  fair 
competition,  to  eliminate  the  obstructions  preventing  the 
natural  tendencies  of  men  from  finding  their  free  ex- 
pression. Thus  it  appears  that  the  evils  of  the  industrial 
world  will  be  eliminated  by  the  destruction  of  industrial 
privilege  of  an  artificial  character,  while  the  evils  of  the 
political  world  will  be  minimized  by  the  removal  of  all 
mechanisms  and  forms  that  prevent  free  expression  of 
public  sentiment  and  free  organization  of  the  public  will. 
This  principle  is  well  expressed  in  the  concluding  para- 
graph of  his  "  State."  "  The  rule  of  governmental  ac- 
tion is  necessary  cooperation :  the  method  of  political  de- 
velopment is  conservative  adaptation." 

Clearer  light  on  his  theory  is  thrown  by  "  Mere  Litera- 
ture "  in  which  he  characterizes  the  English  publicists 
Burke  and  Bagehot,  and  also  the  great  American  states- 
men from  Washington  to  Lincoln.  Burke  was  an  in- 
terpreter of  English  practical  utilitarianism  and  expedi- 
ency, magnificent  in  type  and  form.  Bagehot  has  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  conditions,  but 


384  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

"  has  no  sympathy  with  the  voiceless  body  of  the  people, 
with  the  *  mass  of  unknown  men.'  He  conceives  the 
work  of  government  to  be  a  work  which  is  possible  only 
to  the  instructed  few.  .  .  .  He  has  not  the  stout  fibre 
and  the  unquestioning  faith  in  the  right  and  capacity  of 
inorganic  majorities  which  make  the  democrat.  He  has 
none  of  the  heroic  boldness  necessary  for  faith  in  whole- 
sale political  aptitude  and  capacity.  He  takes  democracy 
in  detail  and  in  his  thought,  and  to  take  it  in  detail  makes 
it  very  awkward  indeed."  ^^ 

Among  the  great  Americans  he  placed  Washington, 
Lincoln,  Grant,  Lee  and  chief  among  all,  Lincoln,  "  the 
supreme  American."  ^^  That  he  never  ceased  to  be  a 
common  man  was  the  source  of  Lincoln's  strength,  with 
a  genius  for  "  insight  into  the  common  things  of  politics, 
that  inhere  in  human  nature  and  cast  hardly  more  than 
their  shadows  on  constitutions."  The  whole  country  is 
summed  up  in  him  — "  the  rude  western  strength  tem- 
pered with  shrewdness  and  a  broad  and  human  wit;  the 
eastern  conservatism,  regardful  of  law  and  devoted  to 
standards  of  duty,"  ^^ 

Through  Wilson's  political  theory  runs  an  unusual  note 
in  American  political  philosophy  —  the  reaction  from  the 
formal  and  mechanical  to  the  human  and  social.  "  I  do 
not  find  that  I  derive  inspiration,  but  only  information," 
said  he,  "  from  the  learned  historians  and  analysts  of 
liberty ;  but  from  the  sonneteers,  the  poets,  who  speak  its 

20  P.  100. 

'1  Op.  cit.,  Ch.  7,  "  A  Calendar  of  Great  Americans." 

22  P.  208. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  385 

spirit  and  its  exalted  purpose  —  who,  recking  nothing  of 
the  historical  method,  obey  only  the  high  method  of  their 
own  hearts  —  what  may  a  man  not  gain  of  courage  and 
confidence  in  the  right  way  of  politics  ?  "  ^^ 

There  is  more  of  a  nation's  politics  to  be  got  out  of  its 
poetry  than  out  of  all  of  its  systematic  writers  upon 
public  affairs  and  constitutions.  Epics  are  better  mirrors 
of  manners  than  chronicles;  dramas  often  may  let  you 
into  the  secrets  of  statutes.  It  is  not  knowledge  that 
moves  the  world,  but  ideals,  convictions,  the  opinions  or 
fancies  that  have  been  held  or  followed,^*  Their  primal 
relations  are  not  independent  of  their  way  of  living,  and 
their  way  of  thinking  is  the  mirror  of  their  way  of 
living. 

Keen  analyses  of  American  political  conditions  were 
made  by  Theodore  Roosevelt  in  his  early  "  Essays " 
(1888)  and  in  his  later  "  Autobiography."  ^^  His  politi- 
cal ideas  are  also  expressed  in  his  numerous  speeches,  mes- 
sages, and  writings.  The  best  summary  of  his  later  views 
is  contained  in  "  The  New  Nationalism  "  ( 19 10).  In  the 
early  years  of  his  career  he  championed  civil  service  re- 
form and  honest  government,  while  in  the  later  period  he 
took  up  the  gauntlet  for  social  and  industrial  legislation, 
equal  suffrage,  the  initiative  and  referendum  and  the  re- 
call of  judicial  decisions ;  still  later  the  advocacy  of  univer- 
sal military  training.^"  Among  the  outstanding  features 
in  his  quarter-century  of  public  activity  was  his  develop- 
as  op.  cit.,  36. 
2*0/>.  cit.,  10. 

25  See  also  "  The  Strenuous  Life." 

2«"Fear  God  and  Take  Your  Own  Part";  "The  Foes  of  Our 
Own  Household,"  1917. 


386  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ment  of  executive  power  on  the  side  of  party  and  public 
leadership,  in  its  technical  administrative  aspects,  and  in 
relation  to  the  legislative  branch  of  the  government.  No- 
table also  was  his  analysis  of  nationalism  as  the  instrument 
of  democratic  progress,  particularly  in  his  later  years. 
His  historic  controversy  over  the  courts  has  already  been 
discussed,  and  need  not  be  renewed  here.  He  likewise 
furnished  the  formula  of  progressivism,  in  his  speeches 
of  1912-1914 :  "  The  invisible  government," —  the  com- 
bination of  political  bosses  and  industrial  privilege, — 
must  be  overthrown,  more  democratic  political  machinery 
provided,  and  a  broader  industrial-social  program  out- 
lined and  executed, 

"  The  citizens  of  the  United  States,"  said  he,  "  must  ef- 
fectively control  the  mighty  commercial  forces  which  they 
have  themselves  called  into  being."  Property  must  be- 
come the  servant  and  not  the  master  of  the  commonwealth. 
Human  rights  and  human  welfare  have  been  neglected. 
They  must  be  put  back  in  their  proper  place.  Socialism 
and  Anarchism  must  be  combatted,  but  the  most  effective 
"  antidote  "  is  wise  and  beneficent  social  legislation  eradi- 
cating the  causes  from  which  these  movements  spring.. 
Both  capital  and  labor  must  be  restrained  in  the  general 
interest,  but  at  the  same  time  the  public  must  not  merely 
act  negatively,  but  must  energetically  root  out  the  causes 
of  discontent,  and  build  broader  foundations  of  social 
welfare. 

Most  influential  was  Roosevelt  as  a  preacher  of  civic 
duty  to  the  nation,  breathing  a  sense  of  responsibility  intO' 
thousands,  inspiring  what  Wells  declares  Americans  lack; 
— "  a  sense  of  the  state," — political  consciousness  and  in- 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  Z^7 

terest  expressed  in  political  action  for  the  public  weal. 
To  this  task  his  own  dramatic  personality  and  his  trench- 
ant style  of  writing  and  speaking  were  admirably  adapted, 
and  these  gifts  made  it  possible  for  him  to  wield  a  far 
reaching  influence  on  the  public  mind  of  America.  A 
great  personality  is  an  asset  of  any  state,  and  great  po- 
litical personality  is  a  treasure  in  a  democracy,  living  in 
the  mores  of  the  people  long  after  the  individual  life  has 
passed  away. 

A  systematic  study  of  political  theory  was  made  by  W. 
W.  Willoughby,  who  wrote  in  1896  "  The  Nature  of 
the  State";  in  1900,  "Social  Justice";  in  1903,  "Po- 
litical Theories  of  the  Ancient  World."  ^^  The  method 
of  Willoughby  was  in  the  main  analytical  and  followed 
broadly  the  ethico-political  theory  of  the  English  philoso- 
pher T.  H.  Green,  developed  in  his  "  Principles  of  Po- 
litical Obligation,"  and  the  Austinian  school  of  juris- 
prudence, Willoughby  analyzed  and  criticized  the  the- 
ory of  a  social  contract  as  the  basis  of  government. 
Rights  cannot  be  maintained  outside  of  political  organiza- 
tion and  no  such  rights  can  be  conceded  as  existing  be- 
fore the  state.  The  state  need  not  justify  its  existence 
or  its  use  of  coercive  power  as  against  the  individual, 
for  the  state  itself  is  a  legal  personality  and  has  its  own 
claims  to  rights  and  duties. 

Sovereignty  was  interpreted  by  Willoughby  largely  in 
the  Austinian  spirit.  The  attribute  of  supreme  power 
belongs  to  the  state  as  a  person  representing  the  supreme 

27  See  also  "  Constitutional  Law  of  the  U.  S.,"  1910;  "The  Ameri- 
can Constitutional  System,"  1904.  Compare  F.  M.  Taylor,  "  The 
Right  of  the  State  to  Be"  (1891). 


388  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

will  of  the  body  politic.  This  power  is  indivisible  and 
absolute  in  its  authority.  The  much  mooted  question  of 
the  location  of  sovereign  power  Willoughby  solved  by 
finding  a  habitat  in  "  all  organs  through  which  are  ex- 
pressed the  volitions  of  the  state,"  that  is  to  say,  in 
legislatures,  executives,  courts  and  all  other  agencies  of 
state  government. 

The  aims  of  the  state  have  elsewhere  been  discussed, 
and  are,  broadly  speaking,  expressed  in  terms  of  strongly 
qualified  individualism.  The  purposes  of  the  government 
are  the  maintenance  of  order,  preservation  of  liberty,  and 
the  promotion  of  general  welfare.  The  precise  applica- 
tion of  these  powers  in  specific  cases  will  depend  largely 
upon  the  underlying  social  and  political  conditions.  The 
determination,  says  he,  "  of  just  what  powers  should  be 
assumed  by  the  State  is  solely  one  of  expediency,  and  as 
such  lies  within  the  field  of  Politics  or  the  Art  of  Gov- 
ernment, and  not  within  the  domain  of  political  theory."  ^® 
Likewise  in  discussing  the  nature  of  justice  and  of  equal- 
ity Willoughby  concludes  that  there  are  no  absolute  rules 
by  means  of  which  final  determinations  may  be  made. 
Equality  he  repudiates  as  an  abstract  principle  of  justice 
and  substitutes  the  idea  of  proportionality,^" — that  is, 
proportioning  of  rewards  in  each  particular  case  accord- 
ing to  some  ascertainable  conditions  of  time,  place  or 
person. 

Systematic  studies  of  the  state  were  made  by  James  W. 
Gamer,  in  his  introduction  to  "  Political  Science " 
(1910),  and  by  Gettel,  in  his  "  Introduction  to  Political 

2«  "  Nature  of  the  State,"  p.  338. 
2»  "  Social  Justice." 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  389 

Science " —  and  "  Problems  in  Political  Evolution '' 
( 1918).  These  works,  however,  were  largely  descriptive 
and  explanatory  of  the  principal  types  of  the  more  im- 
portant theories,  and  the  writers  did  not  undertake  to 
advance,  in  most  instances,  independent  opinions.  The 
presentations  of  politics  were  designedly  encyclopaedic 
rather  than  dogmatic,  and  were  in  fact  intended  as  con- 
venient manuals  for  study  rather  than  original  inquiries 
into  the  theory  of  the  state.  In  this  spirit  the  authors' 
conclusions  regarding  the  origin,  organization  and  pur- 
poses of  the  state  are  presented  in  a  moderating  and 
modest  fashion. 

The  leading  figure  in  the  systematic  formulation  and 
adaptation  of  political  theory  during  the  latter  part  of 
this  period  was  Frank  J.  Goodnow,  whose  theoretical  and 
practical  activities  were  numerous  and  varied,  and  made 
him  a  powerful  force  in  both  fields.*'^  Goodnow  ap- 
proached the  problems  of  politics  from  the  point  of  view 
of  public  administration,  of  which  subject  he  may  be 
said  to  have  been  the  first  systematic  student  in  the 
United  States.  His  greatest  contributions  were  made  in 
this  field,  which  he  himself  developed  and  organized, 
using  the  scattered  material  of  public  law,  private  law, 

30  See  "  Comparative  Administrative  Law,"  1893 ;  "  Municipal 
Home  Rule,"  1895;  "Municipal  Problems,"  1897;  "City  Government 
in  the  United  States,"  1904;  "Municipal  Government,"  1909;  "Social 
Reform  and  the  Constitution,"  191 1;  "Principles  of  Constitutional 
Government,"  1916;  also  The  Work  of  the  American  Political  Sci- 
ence Association,  "  Proceedings,"  Vol.  I,  p.  35,  "  Politics  and  Admin- 
istration," 1900;  "American  Conception  of  Liberty  and  Govern- 
ment," 1916;  "Principles  of  the  Administrative  Law  of  the  U,  S.," 
1905. 


390  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

and  governmental  organization  for  the  purpose  of  build- 
ing up  a  compact  body  of  administrative  law.  Signifi- 
cant work  was  also  done  by  Goodnow  in  the  field  of 
municipal  government,  particularly  in  dealing  with  legal 
and  structural  problems. 

The  scope  of  political  science,  as  conceived  by  Good- 
now, included  the  expression  of  the  will  of  the  state; 
second,  the  content  of  the  will  of  the  state,  and  third,  the 
execution  of  the  will  of  the  state.  Under  the  first  head, 
he  would  include  political  action,  notably  that  seen  in 
political  parties.  Under  the  second  head  he  would  place 
the  legal  relations  of  the  state  as  a  legal  person,  the  rela- 
tion of  public  officers  to  the  legal  system,  and  the  study 
of  comparative  legislation.  Under  the  third  branch  he 
would  include  the  study  of  various  aspects  of  administra- 
tion, the  theory  and  practice  of  the  enforcement  and  ap- 
plication of  the  law.^^  In  his  general  attitude  Goodnow 
leaned  toward  the  study  of  public  law  and  concrete  or- 
ganization and  away  from  abstract  or  speculative  philoso- 
phy, although  conceding  the  necessity  of  the  latter  in  a 
comprehensive  system  of  politics.  Reluctantly  philosoph- 
ical, he  somewhat  overcame  his  inhibitions.  He  repudi- 
ated the  doctrine  of  natural  rights  and  the  social  contract 
as  the  basis  of  organized  political  society,  relying  rather 
upon  historical  and  evolutionary  considerations  and  ten- 
dencies. He  rejected  Montesquieu's  theory  of  the  three- 
fold separation  of  powers,  and  substituted  the  dual  divi- 
sion into  politics  and  administration.^-     He  emjihasized 


See   Proceedings,   American   Political   Science   Association,   op. 


cit. 


22  See  "  Politics  and  Administration,"  Chap.  IV. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  391 

strongly  the  importance  of  effective  organization  of  po- 
litical leadership  within  the  government,  and  explained 
the  abuses  of  the  party  system,  including  the  eccentrici- 
ties of  the  boss  and  the  machine,  by  the  lack  of  effective 
central  organization  of  power  and  responsibility. 

In  his  later  writings  he  pointed  out  the  discrepancy 
between  current  legal  theories  and  the  dominant  social 
and  political  doctrines  of  the  day,  and  urged  the  im- 
portance of  squaring  the  juristic  theories  of  justice  with 
the  contemporary  conditions  and  necessities.^^  Orderly 
and  progressive  political  development,  in  accordance  with 
changing  economic  and  social  conditions,  he  regarded  as 
fundamental. 

In  general,  Goodnovv  adhered  to  the  "  pragmatic " 
philosophy  and  to  the  social  interpretation  of  history. 
"  More  and  more,"  said  he,  "  political  and  social  students 
are  recognizing  that  a  policy  of  opportunism  is  a  policy 
most  likely  to  be  followed  by  desirable  results  and  that 
adherence  to  general  theories  which  are  to  be  applied  at 
all  times  and  under  all  conditions  is  productive  of  harm 
rather  than  good."  ^^  In  short,  he  undertook  to  develop 
in  the  midst  of  the  forces  of  legalism,  party  conflict, 
abstract  speculation,  a  domain  of  political  science  resting 
upon  an  essentially  practical  and  pragmatic  foundation. 
He  was  neither  a  legal  realist  nor  a  political  idealist,  but 
represented  the  best  type  of  opportunist  in  theory  and  in 
practice.  In  this  respect  his  work  may  be  said  to  have 
been  typically  English  or  typically  American  in  its  ad- 
herence to  the  principle  of  common  sense  as  distinguished 

83  See  "  Social  Reform  and  the  Constitution." 
3*  Ibid.,  p.  3. 


392  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

from  speculative  idealism  or  from  reactionary  formalism. 
Comparable  with  the  work  of  Goodnow  was  that  of 
Freund  and  Pound,  whose  political  theories  have  already 
been  considered  in  connection  with  the  discussion  of  the 
courts  and  justice.  Freund's  chief  contribution  to  po- 
litical science  was  the  development  of  the  theory  of 
police  power.'*^  The  doctrine  of  the  police  power  had 
appeared  earlier  in  American  political  development,  but 
had  never  been  systematized  or  organized.  Woolsey  had 
discussed  the  nature  and  sphere  of  the  police  power,^^  and 
distinguished  between  the  "  detective "  and  the  "  pre- 
ventive"  duties  of  police;  but  had  urged  that  the  term 
"  police  "  should  not  be  applied  to  this  particular  func- 
tion of  the  state.  "  Police  "  is  another  name,  he  said, 
for  public  welfare,  and  its  activities  should  be  grouped 
together.  But  as  "  police  "  is  an  odious  name,  he  sug- 
gested the  term  "  public  economy."  ^^  Burgess  ^^  had 
also  discussed  the  police  power  in  connection  with  the 
topic  of  civil  liberty.  The  liberty  of  the  individual  is  lia- 
ble to  attack  and  must  be  protected  by  the  state.  "  This  is 
the  police  power,"  said  he.  "  Its  realm  is  therefore  the 
counterpart  of  the  realm  of  individual  liberty.  It  is  the 
guard  which  the  state  sets  upon  the  abuse  of  individual 

35  Ernst  Freund,  "  Police  Power,"  1904 ;  "  Standards  of  Legisla- 
tion," 1917;  Article  on  Police  Power  in  McLaughlin  and  Hart's  Cy- 
clopaedia of  American  Government.  Compare  W.  W.  Cook,  "  What 
Is  Police  Power?  "  in  Columbia  Law  Review,  VII,  322  (1907).  L.  P. 
McGehee,  "  Due  Process  of  Law,"  1906.  Hastings,  "  Development 
of  Law  as  Illustrated  by  the  Decisions  relating  to  the  Police  Power 
of  the  State,"  1900  in  Proceedings  American  Philosophical  Society. 

38  Vol.  I,  p.  235. 

'^  See  op.  cit.,  I,  237. 

'8  Vol.  I,  p.  216. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  393 

liberty."  Other  writers  have  considered  in  a  fragmen- 
tary way  the  theory  of  the  police  power. 

These  scattered  ideas  and  principles  were  brought  to- 
gether by  Freund,  however,  in  systematic  form,  and  were 
developed  into  a  coherent  body  of  rules.  The  purpose 
of  the  police  power,  said  Freund,  is  "  to  promote  the 
public  welfare  and  its  characteristic  methods  are  those 
of  restraint  and  compulsion."  The  principles  of  justice 
are  ordinarily  based  on  the  common  sense  of  right  and 
wrong,  of  moral  responsibility,  on  the  faith  of  obliga- 
tions, on  the  principles  of  justice,  and  therefore  appear 
commonly  as  dictates  of  reason,  not  as  orders  of  govern- 
ment. The  public  welfare,  however,  is  determined  more 
openly  and  directly  by  social  and  economic  conditions  as 
the  result  of  which  the  state  prescribes  additional  rules  of 
conduct.  Under  these  are,  first,  the  primary  needs  of 
safety,  order,  morals  and  the  care  of  dependents.  But 
in  addition  to  these  there  is  a  broad  field  of  economic 
interests  in  which  the  state  may  interfere  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  individual  and  the  promotion  of  the  common 
good.  It  is  these  relations  and  activities  of  the  state 
which  Freund  classified,  organized  and  developed  into 
a  system. 

In  his  "  Standards  of  American  Legislation  "  he  under- 
took to  apply  similar  methods  to  the  technical  processes  of 
law-making.^*  The  two  chief  principles  developed  are 
those  of  "  correlation  "  and  "  standardization."  Under 
these  heads  he  includes  such  canons  as  conformity  to  sci- 
entific laws,  standardization  of  juristic  data,  definite 
method  in  reaching  determinations,  and  stability  of  policy. 

8»  See  Ch.  VI. 


394  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

The  scientific  study  of  legislative  processes  and  the  elabora- 
tion of  the  practical  technique  of  law-making  are  the  goals 
toward  which  he  moves. 

Of  the  fruitfulness  of  the  studies  made  by  Goodnow, 
Freund  and  Pound  there  can  be  no  question,  and  their 
far-reaching  effect  in  the  domain  of  law  and  politics  can 
readily  be  traced.  They  represent  a  distinct  advance  from 
the  formalism  and  legalism  of  earlier  days  toward  a  period 
of  broader  consideration  of  social  forces  and  sharper  tech- 
nique of  governmental  organization  and  action. 

Progress  was  also  made  in  tracing  the  evolution  of 
systematic  political  ideas,  notably  by  Dunning  ^"  in  his 
historical  studies,  also  by  Willoughby  ^^  and  by  Hart  in 
his  "  National  Ideals."  ^^  Others  developed  various 
phases  of  the  growth  and  differentiation  of  forms  of 
political  thought.'*^ 

A  significant  study  was  that  of  Ford  ^^  in  the  relations 
between  biology  and  politics  —  a  field  to  which  inadequate 
attention  was  given  by  American  students  of  politics. 
Surveying  the  evolutionary  process,  and  reviewing  conclu- 
sions drawn  from  biological,  psychological,  linguistic,  and 
anthropological  data,  he  deduces  certain  "  first  principles 

*"  William  A.  Dunning,  I,  "History  of  Political  Theories,  An- 
cient and  Mediaeval";  II,  "From  Luther  to  Montesquieu";  III, 
covering  later  period. 

*i "  Political  Theories  of  the  Ancient  World." 

*2  A.  B.  Hart,  "  National  Ideals  Historically  Traced,"  1907. 

<3  Merriam,  "  History  of  the  Theory  of  Sovereignty  since  Rous- 
seau, 1900;  "History  of  American  Political  Theories,"  1903;  George 
Scherger,  "The  Evolution  of  Modern  Liberty,"  1904;  F.  W.  Coker, 
"Organismic  Theories  of  the  State,"  1910;  H.  J.  Laski,  "Problems 
of  Sovereignty,"  1917. 

<*  Henry  Jones  Ford,  "The  Natural  History  of  the  State,"  1915- 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  395 

in  politics."  *"*  In  these  are  included  the  proposition  that 
"  man  is  the  product  of  Social  Evolution  " ;  the  definition 
of  state  and  government  in  biological  terms;  and  conclu- 
sions touching  the  character  of  sovereignty  and  the  scope 
and  nature  of  state  activity.  To  these  are  added  certain 
conclusions  respecting  ethical  rights  and  the  meaning  of 
liberty.  All  of  these  are  presented  as  "  corollaries  of  the 
Social  Hypothesis,"  which  he  finds  in  his  study  of  natural 
science. 

The  scientific  study  of  politics  is  also  evident  particu- 
larly during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  in  numerous 
studies,  historical  and  comparative,  in  various  fields  of 
political  activity.  Thus  the  extra-legal  organization  of 
the  political  party  has  been  analyzed  by  numerous  writers, 
among  them  Ford,  Woodburn,  Macy  and  many  others.** 
In  connection  with  these  studies  are  the  admirable  an- 
alyses of  European  parties,  and  of  public  opinion  in  its 
relation  to  government  made  by  Lowell.*^  In  the  field 
a  distinct  attempt  has  been  made  to  describe,  classify  and 
interpret  the  political  phenomena  centering  around  the 
group  activities  outside  the  formal  government.  This 
movement  represents  another  step  away  from  the  formal- 
ism and  the  mechanical  discussion  of  political  problems 
developed  in  the  period  of  strict  legalism  and  constitu- 
tionalism. 

To  the  study  of  the  urban  problem  no  little  attention 

♦5  P.  173  et  seq. 

*'  See  Chap.  X. 

*^  A.  Lawrence  Lowell,  "Essays  on  Government,"  1889;  "Govern- 
ment and  Parties  in  Continental  Europe,"  i8g6;  "Government  of 
England,"  1908;  "Public  Opinion  and  Popular  Government,"  1913. 


39^  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

has  been  devoted.  Shaw's  brilliant  description  of  the 
government  of  European  cities  stimulated  wide  interest  in 
the  betterment  of  urban  conditions.^®  In  this  field  Good- 
now  led  the  way  in  the  efifort  toward  systematization  and 
organization.  Other  notable  studies  were  made  by  Wil- 
cox/»  Fairlie,'*'*  Munro,"  McBain,^^  Howe,^^  Rowe," 
Beard,*^'  Cleveland,"^®  Bruere,**^  and  a  long  series  of  other 
writers  on  the  structural  and  functional  aspects  of  city 
life.  In  the  main  these  studies  were  concerned  with  the 
organization  and  legal  relations  of  municipalities,  but 
they  were  by  no  means  confined  to  this  field.  On  the 
contrary,  no  phase  of  municipal  life  was  left  untouched 
in  the  general  desire  to  discover  the  causes  of  municipal 

*8  Albert  Shaw,  "  Municipal  Government  in  Continental  Europe," 
and  "  Municipal  Government  in  Great  Britain,"  1895,  published  first 
in  the  Century  Magasine. 

*"  Delos  F.  Wilcox,  "Great  Cities  in  America,"  1910;  "The  Amer- 
ican City,"  1906;  "Municipal  Franchises,"  191 1. 

BO  John  A.  Fairlie,  "Municipal  Administration,"  1901;  "Essays  in 
Municipal  Administration,"  1908. 

t^i  W.  B.  Munro,  "Government  of  European  Cities,"  1909;  "Gov- 
ernment of  American  Cities,"  1912;  'Principles  and  Methods  of 
Municipal  Administration,  1917. 

62  Howard  L.  McBain,  "  Law  and  Practice  of  Municipal  Home 
Rule,"  1916. 

53  Frederick  C  Howe,  "The  Modern  City,"  1915;  "The  City,  the 
Hope  of  Democracy,"  1905 ;  "  The  British  City,"  1907 ;  "  European 
Cities  at  Work,"  1913. 

5*  Leo  S.  Rowe,  "  Problems  of  City  Government,"  1908. 

**  Charles  A.  Beard,  "American  City  Government,"  1912. 

^^  F.  A.  Cleveland,  "  Chapters  on  Municipal  Administration  and 
Accounting,"  1909. 

6^  Henry  Bruere,  "  The  New  City  Government,"  1912.  See  also 
Herman  James,  "  Municipal  Functions,"  1917. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  397 

misgoverament  and  constructive  methods  for  their  im- 
provement. During  the  last  fifteen  years  in  particular, 
no  side  of  American  political  life  attracted  a  larger  num- 
ber of  students  than  that  of  municipal  government,  but 
the  vastness  of  the  field,  the  novelty  of  the  enterprise, 
and  the  rapidly  changing  character  of  the  situation  made 
it  difficult  to  collect  and  systematize  the  material  or  to 
organize  its  principles  into  definite  form. 

Munro's  "  Bibliography  of  Municipal  Government," 
with  its  elaborate  array  of  titles  of  publications,  both  by 
individuals  and  by  organizations,  illustrates  the  rapid 
growth  of  public  interest  in  urban  problems,  and  the  in- 
creasing attempt  at  scientific  study,  particularly  since 
1900. 

In  the  field  of  public  law,  administration  and  politics, 
especially  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  a  formid- 
able array  of  investigators  and  thinkers  worked  inde- 
fatigably  in  special  fields.  To  many  of  these  studies 
reference  has  been  made  in  previous  chapters,  and  it  is 
outside  the  limits  of  space  here  to  catalogue  and  classify 
them  all.  Taken  together  they  constitute  a  movement 
of  very  great  significance  in  the  development  oi  political 
thought,  and  their  joint  product  to  the  sum  of  political 
information,  analysis,  and  technique  was  not  inconsider- 
able. They  were  the  miners  and  sappers  in  the  advance 
of  democracy.''^ 

In  the  field  of  international  law  the  earliest  advances 
were  made  by  Lieber.     After  him  came  Woolsey,  who 

68  A  significant  summary  is  found  in  the  proceedings  of  the  St. 
Louis  Congress  of  Arts  and  Sciences  (1904)  under  "  Social  Science." 


398  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

following  the  publication  of  his  "  Political  Science  "  de- 
voted himself  to  the  problems  of  international  relations. 
Numerous  workers  appeared  in  the  same  field  and  sub- 
stantial studies  were  made  in  American  diplomacy  and 
in  international  law  by  Moore,  Scott,  Wilson,  Hill,  Foster 
and  others.^^  A  great  amount  of  detailed  study  of  ma- 
terial and  of  systematic  organization  was  patiently  car- 
ried on.  With  the  creation  of  the  American  Society  of 
International  Law  this  undertaking  was  still  further  sys- 
tematized and  supported.^"  Significant  studies  were 
those  of  Reinsch  on  "  Public  International  Unions " 
(191 1 ),  "Colonies  and  Colonial  Policy"  and  "World 
Politics."  «^ 

The  intensity  of  interest  was  greater,  however,  in  the 
direction  of  the  organization  of  world  peace  than  in  the 
technical  conduct  of  international  relations.  In  the 
peace  philosophy  and  movement  there  was  widespread 
participation,  while  the  study  of  diplomatic  history  and 
international  relations  was  confined  to  a  smaller  group. 
Relatively  to  contemporary  European  interest  in  interna- 
tional questions,  that  of  America  was  almost  negligible, 

59  J.  B.  Moore,  "  Digest  of  International  Law,"  1906.  "  American 
Diplomacy,"  1905;  Elilni  Root,  "Addresses  on  International  Sub- 
jects; George  G.  Wilson,  "International  Law,"  1910;  A.  B.  Hart, 
"  Foundations  of  American  Foreign  Policy,"  1901 ;  David  Jayne 
Hill,  "History  of  Diplomacy,"  1905-14;  "World  Organization," 
191 1 ;  A.  C.  Coolidge,  "The  United  States  as  a  World  Power," 
1908;  J.  H.  Latane,  "America  as  a  World  Power,"  1907;  John  W. 
Foster,  "  A  Manual  of  American  Diplomacy,"  1903 ;  "  The  Practice 
of  Diplomacy,"  1906;  Edwin  Maxey,  "International  Law,"  1906. 

60  American  Journal  International  Law  (1907).  Compare  Publi- 
cations, Carnegie  Endowment  for  International  Peace. 

61  Alpheus  Snow,  "  The  Administration  of  Dependencies,"  1902. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  399 

but  measured  by  the  preceding  half  century  of  our  his- 
tory, American  attention  to  international  affairs  was  rap- 
idly increasing.  The  turn  of  the  tide  of  foreign  trade, 
the  world-wide  missionary  movement,  the  international 
tendencies  in  labor  and  culture,  the  annexation  of  over- 
seas territory  after  the  Spanish  War,  the  Hague  con- 
ferences, all  tended  to  stimulate  American  interest  in 
extra-Continental  affairs.  The  development  of  system- 
atic stud}^  was  a  part  of  this  general  movement. 

Carl  Schurz,  George  William  Curtis  and  others  dis- 
cussed the  problems  of  politics  acutely  but  did  not  attempt 
systematic  or  exhaustive  treatment.  Contemporary  jour- 
nalists did  much  toward  the  keener  study  of  political 
problems.  In  this  group  were  included  Horace  Greeley, 
Dana,  Godkin,  and  others  who  molded  and  expressed 
public  opinion  in  many  ways.  Their  voices  were  raised 
in  effective  protest  against  political  and  economic  abuses, 
particularly  against  political  abuses,  but  they  did  not 
present  either  a  systematic  theory  of  politics  or  a  method 
of  arriving  at  one. 

A  keen  analysis  of  the  practical  workings  of  democ- 
racy was  made  by  Godkin,  for  many  years  editor  of  the 
New  York  Evening  Post,  and  in  close  touch  with  the 
affairs  of  the  metropolis.*'^  In  his  studies,  based  in  great 
part  upon  municipal  experiences,  Godkin  sharply  chal- 
lenged the  achievements  of  democratic  government,  and 
reviewed  the  failures  and  successes  of  a  century  in  a 
striking  procession  of  events.     The  unforeseen  develop- 

«2  E.  L.  Godkin,  "  Problems  of  Modern  Democracy,"  1896 ;  "  Un- 
foreseen Tendencies  of  Democracy,"  i8g8;  "Fifty  Years  of  Ideal- 
ism," a  compilation  of  Evening  Post  articles. 


400  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ments  in  the  evolution  of  democracy  which  Godkin 
pointed  out  were  the  failure  of  the  voters  to  participate 
in  elections,  the  disregard  of  special  fitness  or  qualification 
for  political  office  and  leadership,  the  decline  of  legisla- 
tures, the  grave  problems  of  urban  communities,  the  in- 
different development  and  functioning  of  public  opinion, 
the  general  apathy  toward  political  liberty.  In  Godkin, 
however,  there  is  relatively  little  reference  to  the  social 
and  industrial  phases  of  democratic  evolution.  He  repre- 
sented very  well,  however,  the  opinion  of  those  whose 
theoretical  and  practical  efforts  centered  around  political 
"  reform  "  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the  term. 

Much  more  radical  in  temper  were  the  utterances  of 
Lloyd,^^  whose  first  efforts  were  directed  against  monopo- 
lies, but  who  later  formulated  a  more  general  philosophy. 
Democracy  must  be  of  wider  application  than  govern- 
ment merely;  it  must  be  a  "positive  progressive  instinct 
for  the  conscious  creation  of  the  public  welfare."  The 
old  freedom  must  be  transformed  into  the  new,  including 
freedom  of  access  to  land,  to  credit,  to  the  tools  of  in- 
dustry, to  employment,  to  our  fellow  men.  "  Man  is 
forever  harmonizing  liberty  in  organizations  and  break- 
ing up  organizations  to  get  liberty,"  said  he.®*  In  social 
organizations  there  must  be  individualism  as  well  as  so- 
cialism, home  rule  as  well  as  national  rule,  independence 
as  well  as  interdependence.®'^ 

"3  Henry  D.  Lloyd,  "  Wealth  against  Commonwealth,"  1894 ; 
"  Man,  the  Social  Creator,"  1906 ;  "  Men,  the  Workers,"  1909. 

8* "Man,  the  Social  Creator,"  p.  231.  Society's  growth  might  be 
mapped  out,  he  said,  in  a  series  of  alternate  "communisms"  and 
"  anarchies." 

85  Compare  the  utterances  of  W.  J.  Ghent,  "  Our  Benevolent  Feud- 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  40I 

Significant  studies  of  American  public  life  were  made 
throughout  this  period  by  thoughtful  observers.  Among 
these  were  Charles  W.  Eliot,^^  Lyman  Abbott,^^  Had- 
ley,**  N.  S.  Shaler,*®  Henry  Van  Dyke/*  John  Graham 
Brooks/^  and  many  others  whose  names  were  widely 
known. 

Almost  every  man  of  eminence  contributed  to  the  com- 
mon counsel  of  democracy,  from  his  own  experience,  ob- 
servation and  reflection.  These  and  other  studies, 
though  fragmentary,  were  often  illuminating  in  their 
analysis,  and  rationalizing  in  their  tendency.  Their 
chief  significance  lay  in  the  aid  they  gave  to  the  general 
process  whereby  the  democracy  built  up  its  appreciation 
of  the  rational  and  deliberative  element  in  the  governing 
process.  Outside  of  court  and  council  chamber,  the 
greater  body  of  public  opinion  was  constantly  forming 
and  reforming  amid  the  clamor  of  demagogues,  fanatics, 
and  the  more  insidious  pleas  of  special  interests.  But 
such  men  as  these  rose  in  the  market  place  and  counselled 
wisdom,  prudence,  moderation,  examination  of  facts, 
analysis   of   causes,   sound  methods,   and   statesmanlike 

alism";  "Mass  and  Class";  Henry  George,  Jr.,  "The  Menace  of 
Privilege,"  and  the  early  protest  of  D.  Cloud,  "  Monopolies  and  the 
People,"  1873,  4th  ed. 

88  "American  Contributions  to  Civilization,"  1897. 

67  "The  Rights  of  Man,"  1901;  "The  Spirit  of  Democracy,"  191a 

88  "Freedom  and  Responsibility"  (1903);  "Undercurrents  in 
American  Politics"  (1915);  "Standards  of  Public  Morality,"  1907. 

88  "The  Individual,"  1900;  "The  Neighbor,"  1904. 

70  "  The  Spirit  of  America,"  1910. 

71  "Social  Unrest,"  (1903).  Compare  Barrett  Wendell,  "Liberty, 
Union  and  Democracy,"  1906;  J.  H.  Hyslop,  "Democracy,"  1899; 
William  Garrott  Brown,  "The  New  Politics,"  1914. 


402  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

conclusions.  Herein  lay  their  significance  in  democratic 
development. 

A  thoughtful  study  of  American  life  was  that  made  by 
Herbert  Croly,  who  was  in  the  latter  part  of  this  period 
editor  of  the  Nciv  Republic.''^  Croly  reflects  and  repre- 
sents the  desire  for  governmental  reorganization  coupled 
with  a  broader  social  program.  "  Political  democracy," 
said  he,  "  is  impoverished  and  sterile  as  soon  as  it  be- 
comes divorced  from  a  social  program.  A  social  pro- 
gram becomes  dangerous  to  popular  liberty  in  case  it  is 
not  authorized  by  the  free  choice  of  the  popular  will."  ''^ 
Croly  urged  with  great  force  the  significance  of  the  nation 
as  the  unit  of  democratic  organization,  the  necessity  of 
simpler  political  machinery,  the  development  of  respon- 
sible political  leadership.  He  emphasized  the  importance 
of  the  national  ideal  and  of  a  practical  program  for  its 
application  and  enforcement.  But  the  ideal  of  "  social 
righteousness,"  he  thought,  must  not  be  separated  from 
the  specific  social  program,  "  The  goal  is  sacred.  The 
program  is  fluid.  The  pilgrims  can  trust  to  the  torch  only 
in  case  they  constantly  alter  and  improve  it,  in  order 
to  meet  the  restless  and  exacting  exigencies  of  the 
journey."  ^*  Progressive  democracy  must  make  its  pro- 
gram as  it  advances. 

In  general,  he  stands  as  an  advocate  of  progressivism 
both  in  the  form  and  the  function  of  government,  in- 
clining toward  concentration  of  authority  and  sharpening 

""■ "  Life   of   Mark   Hanna,"    1912 ;    "  The    Promise   of    American 
Life,"  1909;  "Progressive  Democracy,"  1914. 
'3  P.  212. 
1*  "  Progressive  Democracy,"  p.  217. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  403 

of  political  leadership,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  broaden- 
ing of  the  social  and  industrial  program  of  the  state,  on 
the  other.  He  leaned  toward  what  he  called  "  Roosevel- 
tian  Progressivism,"  as  distinguished  from  "  Wilsonian 
Progressivism."  Progressivism  must  be  constructive  in 
the  genuine  sense  of  the  term.  It  must  be  ready  to  pro- 
vide "  not  merely  a  new  method,  important  as  a  new 
method  may  be,  but  a  new  faith  upon  the  rock  of  w^hicli 
may  be  built  a  better  structure  of  individual  and  social 
life."  Democracy,  he  held,  has  been  dormant,  torpid, 
preoccupied  with  the  frontier  of  its  own  life,  accepting 
uncritically  an  inherited  array  of  ideas  and  institutions. 

Industrial  democracy  appears  as  a  significant  factor  in 
the  new  scheme  of  things  political  —  with  social  educa- 
tion, the  abandonment  of  the  earlier  legalism  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  social  spirit  in  its  stead.  In  brief,  we  have 
here  a  theory  of  economic  and  political  reorganization, 
incomplete  in  details  of  frame-work  and  enumeration  of 
specific  function,  but  clear  as  to  the  general  spirit  in  which 
the  new  enterprise  should  be  undertaken. 

Lippman,  in  a  series  of  brilliant  essays,  plead  for  the 
adoption  of  a  social  program  adequate  to  the  new  needs 
of  society."^"  Here  is  found  a  protest  against  formalism 
and  legalism  —  a  plea  for  the  vital  and  human  as  against 
the  mechanical  and  inflexible.  Politics  is  experimental, 
tentative,  pragmatic,  not  absolute  and  final  in  its  con- 
clusions. Its  forms  are  built  upon  vital  forces,  whose 
action  and  reaction  is  as  significant  as  —  often  more  sig- 
nificant than  —  the  external  mechanisms  of  order. 

T6«' Preface  to  Politics,"  1913;  "The  Stakes  of  Diplomacy,"  1915, 
See  ante. 


404  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

At  the  very  close  of  this  period  Laski  outlined  a 
study  of  sovereignty,  which  was  not  then  fully  developed. 
He  began  a  siege  of  the  "  monistic  "  theory  of  the  state 
and  the  legal  doctrine  of  sovereignty,  substituting  "  plu- 
ralism "  for  "  monism,"  and  "relativity  for  "  abso- 
lutism." 

Weyl  undertook  an  analysis  of  the  relations  between 
plutocracy  and  democracy,  outlining  the  evolution 
of  plutocratic  authority  and  the  beginnings  of  a  con- 
structive program  for  democracy.  The  organizing  skill 
of  the  business  magnate  in  systematizing*  political  cor- 
ruption has  changed  it  from  a  local  phenomenon  to  one 
which  is  organic  and  nation-wide.'^^  Analyzing  the  ele- 
ments of  plutocracy,  Weyl  points  out  that  all  real  pluto- 
crats are  not  also  rich.  Just  as  some  men  of  fortune 
are  democrats,  so  on  the  other  hand  the  plutocracy  itself 
is  backed  up  by  millions  of  like-minded  poor  men,  "  pen- 
niless plutocrats,  dream  millionaires."  Criticising  the 
theory  and  practice  of  the  Marxian  Socialists,  he  under- 
takes to  outline  a  program  of  democratic  activity,  under 
which  are  included  government  ownership  or  regulation 
of  monopolies,  government  regulation  of  industry,  pro- 
gressive income  and  inheritance  taxes,  and  taxation  of 
unearned  increments.  Democratic  political  measures  in- 
clude direct  nominations,  the  initiative  and  referendum 
and  recall,  administrative  efficiency,  increased  flexibility 
in  constitutional  amendment.  Under  the  democratic  so- 
cial program  he  would  include  "  conservation,"  educa- 
tion and  the  socialization  of  consumption,  all  tending  to 
promote  "  equality  and  opportunity,"     The  new  democ- 

" Walter  Weyl,  "The  New  Democracy,"  1912,  2nd  Ed.,  p.  99. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  405 

racy  must  grapple  constructively  with  the  submerged 
world,  with  the  race  problem,  and  with  immigration. 
But  after  all,  no  cut  and  dried  program,  complete  in  all 
of  its  details,  can  possibly  be  outlined.  "  We  seek  not 
a  goal  but  a  higher  starting  point  from  which  to  seek  a 
goal."  Our  Utopia,  he  thinks,  is  not  a  state  at  all,  but 
a  "  mere  direction." 

Numerous  contributions  to  the  systematic  study  of 
politics  were  also  made  by  certain  of  the  sociologists.'^'^ 
Comte's  "  Positive  Philosophy  "  opened  a  new  field  of 
social  inquiry  and  boldly  attempted  a  science  of  social 
physics.  Herbert  Spencer's  systematic  sociology  gave 
an  immense  impetus  to  the  study  of  society  in  America. 
Spencer's  earlier  works,  in  fact,  attracted  wider  interest 
here  than  elsewhere,  and  the  publication  of  his  "  Social 
Statics  "  was  made  possible  only  by  the  interest  of  his 
friends  in  this  country.  Particularly  in  the  '70's  Spen- 
cer's ideas  had  a  wide  vogue  in  America;  and  he  was 
probably  read  and  discussed  more  than  any  other  writer. 
Although  other  attempts  had  been  made  before  his  day,'^* 
the  first  scientific  student  of  sociology  in  America  was 
Lester  F.  Ward.  Ward  was  a  biologist,  interested  prin- 
cipally in  paleontological  botany;  and  his  works  ap- 
peared when  the  general  interest  in  Spencer  was  at  its 
height.  His  "  Dynamic  Sociology "  was  published  in 
1883;  "  Psychic  Factors  in  Civilization  "  in  1893;  "  Out- 

T^  Albion  W.  Small,  "Fifty  Years  of  Sociology  in  the  United 
States"  (1865-1915)  in  A.  J.  S.  XXI,  721  (1916)  :  "Sociology"  in 
Encyclopaedia  Americana. 

^8  H.  C.  Carey,  "  Principles  of  Social  Science,"  1858-59.  John 
Bascom,  "  Sociology,"  1887. 


4o6  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

lines  of  Sociology  "  in  1898;  "  Pure  Sociology  "  in  1903, 
and  "  Applied  Sociology  "  in  1906.  Ward  undertook  to 
construct  a  complete  scheme  of  social  science  adding  the 
"  dynamic  "  principle  to  the  "  statics  "  of  Spencer.  As 
has  already  been  shown,  he  repudiated  Spencer's  biolog- 
ical doctrine  of  individualism,  and  strongly  defended  the 
possibility  of  social  modification  of  the  human  environ- 
ment, instead  of  its  acceptance  as  an  unchangeable 
order  of  things.  To  the  conscious,  deliberate,  purpose- 
ful control  over  individuals  and  environment  by  society 
he  gave  the  name  of  "  Collective  Telesis,"  and  proposed 
the  establishment  of  a  system  of  scientific  government 
under  the  name  of  "  Sociocracy."  By  this  he  meant  "  the 
scientific  control  of  the  social  forces  by  the  collective 
mind  of  society  for  its  advantage.''  Both  individualism 
and  socialism  create  either  artificial  inequalities  or  artifi- 
cial equalities,  but  "  sociocracy  "  recognizes  natural  in- 
equalities and  aims  to  abolish  artificial  inequalities.  In- 
dividualism confers  benefits  on  the  superior.  Socialism 
confers  the  same  benefits  on  all  alike,  while  "  sociocracy  " 
would  confer  benefits  in  strict  proportion  to  merit,  in- 
sisting on  equality  of  opportunity  as  the  only  means  of 
determining  the  degree  of  merit. '^'^ 

Democracy  has  been  a  great  step  forward,  but  still 
leaves  much  to  be  desired  because  of  its  unscientific  char- 
acter. True  legislation  is  in  reality  a  process  of  "  inven- 
tion," and  for  this  the  democracy  is  not  competent,  un- 
less some  scientific  method  is  brought  to  its  aid.  Its 
heart  is  right  but  its  head  is  wrong. 

"See  "Outlines  of  Sociology,"  Chap.  XII.     Cf.  W.  J.  Durant, 
"  Philosophy  and  the  Social  Problem,"  1917. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  4^7 

Following  Ward  came  Giddings,  Small,  Ross,  Patten, 
Cooley  and  many  others  who  undertook  the  elaboration  of 
social  science.  Giddings  ^^  and  Small  were  perhaps  more 
concerned  with  the  methodology  of  the  new  science  than 
with  the  development  of  particular  fields.  They  dealt 
with  the  logic  and  the  methodology  of  social  science, 
struggling  to  bring  order  out  of  the  chaos  of  social 
phenomena,  to  find  a  key  method  and  spirit  of  social  in- 
terpretation. At  first  a  journalist  and  then  an  economist, 
Giddings  developed  his  well  known  formula  of  "  con- 
sciousness of  kind  "  as  the  fundamental  social  fact,  and 
built  around  it  a  sociological  system.  Later  he  under- 
took to  sharpen  the  technique  of  social  observation  and 
analysis,  and  render  methods  and  results  more  specific 
and  scientific.^*  Small  was  especially  occupied  with  the 
task  of  social  technology,  but  in  particular  emphasized 
the  significance  of  the  social  point  of  view,  the  unity  of 
the  social  process,  the  organic  relation  between  economic, 
political,  historical,  ethical  phenomena,  and  the  impossi- 
bility or  inadequacy  of  any  form  of  scientific  discussion 
of  one  without  regard  to  the  other.^^  This  social  point 
of  view  he  emphasized  with  great  persistence  and  power 
for  a  generation. 

Small  also  carried  through  a  striking  analysis  of  cer- 
tain fundamental  concepts  in  his  "  Between  Eras,  From 
Capitalism  to  Democracy  "  (1913).^^     He  examined  the 

80  "  Principles  of  Sociology,"  1898;  "Inductive  Sociology,"  1901; 
"Democracy  and  Empire,"  1901. 

81  "  Inductive  Sociology." 

82  See  especially  his  "  Meaning  of  Social  Science." 

83  See  also  "  The  Social  Gradations  of  Capital,"  A.  J.  S.,  XIX,  721 ; 
"  A  Vision  of  Social  Efficiency,"  A.  J.  S.,  XIX,  433 ;  "  The  Evolution 


4o8  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

"  Illusion  of  Capital,"  the  "  Fallacy  of  Distribution,"  the 
"  Superstition  of  Property."  He  assailed  the  current 
economic  theory  of  the  productivity  of  capital,  finding 
that  the  "  only  producers  of  wealth  are  nature  and  la- 
bor"; that  "the  rewards  of  human  activity  should  be 
distributed  solely  on  the  basis  of  social  service."  What 
he  termed  "  hereditary  economic  sovereignty  "  is  a  "  sys- 
tem professedly  democratic  which  permits  individuals 
through  the  sheer  irrelevancy  of  blood  relationship  to  other 
individuals  to  take  over  and  exercise  the  ownership  of  mil- 
lions of  capital  without  even  counterbalancing  conditions 
requiring  a  corresponding  return  to  the  community." 
There  is,  said  he,  no  compensating  function  to  which  this 
privilege  corresponds.  Capitalism  standing  by  "  Have  " 
and  enforcing  hold-up  money  from  "  Have  Not "  is  the 
most  misanthropic  enemy  left  in  the  path  of  society. 
Under  a  properly  organized  social  system,  he  contended, 
the  functions  of  labor  and  capital  must  both  be  fully 
recognized.  Labor  must  be  represented  in  industrial 
control,  and  the  principle  of  distribution  must  be  that 
of  social  service,  fixed  by  the  voluntary  agreement  of  the 
participants  or  the  arbitration  of  the  state.  If  this  is  not 
done,  he  predicted,  "  in  another  fifty  years  it  may  have 
been  discovered  that  capitalism  is  a  merger  of  lottery 
and  famine." 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  study  of  groups,  and 
group  struggle  in  society,  notable  contributions  to  the 
understanding  of  political  problems  were  made  by  Ross 
and    Cooley.     A    keen    analysis    of    social   control   was 

of  a  Social  Standard,"  A.  /.  S.,  XX,  lo;  See  also  his  "General  So- 
ciology" (1905). 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  409 

made  by  Ross,®*  who  instituted  a  comprehensive  study 
of  all  the  social  forces  that  constitute  the  control  of  the 
group  over  the  individual.  With  this  in  view,  he  exam- 
ined the  "  grounds  "  of  control,  the  "  means  "  of  control, 
and  the  "  system  "  of  control.  The  "  grounds  "  of  con- 
trol include  the  role  of  sympathy,  sociability,  the  sense 
of  justice,  and  of  individual  reaction.  The  "  means  "  of 
control  are  various  forces  by  which  society  insures  social 
obedience.  These  agencies  are  partly  legal  and  include 
law,  belief,  ceremony,  education,  illusion;  and  partly 
ethical,  under  which  head  he  classifies  public  opinion,  sug- 
gestion, art,  and  social  valuation.  He  further  discusses 
class  control,  the  vicissitudes  of  social  control,  the  limits 
and  criteria  of  control.  Ross  asserted  that  in  the  future 
the  control  of  society  would  be  largely  insured  through 
education,  which  would  be  found  to  be  the  most  effective 
agency  in  repressing  the  spirit  of  disobedience.  He  fur- 
ther undertook  to  lay  down  certain  principles  under  which 
social  control  should  be  exercised.  For  example,  social 
control  must  conduce  to  human  welfare.  It  must  not 
lightly  excite  against  itself  a  passion  for  liberty.  It 
should  not  be  so  paternal  as  to  check  the  self -extinction 
of  the  morally  ill -constituted,  and  finally,  social  inter- 
ference should  not  so  limit  the  struggle  for  existence  as 
to  nullify  the  selective  process.  "  The  Strong  Man," 
said  Ross,  "  who  has  come  to  regard  social  control  as 
the  scheme  of  the  many  weak  to  bind  down  a  few  strong 
may  be  brought  to  see  it  in  its  true  light  as  the  safeguard- 

8*  Edward  A.  Ross,  "  Social  Control,"  1901 ;  "  Foundations  of 
Sociology,"  1905;  "Social  Psychology,"  1908;  "Sin  and  Society," 
1907. 


4IO  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

ing  of  a  venerable  corporation,  protector  not  alone  of  the 
liberties  of  living  men  for  themselves,  but  also  of  the 
liberties  of  bygone  men  for  coming  generations ;  guardian 
not  merely  of  the  dearest  possession  of  innumerable  per- 
sons, but  likewise  of  the  spiritual  property  of  the  human 
race." 

Likewise  in  Cooley  are  found  quietly  fruitful  studies 
of  public  opinion,  social  classes,  interaction  between 
classes  and  institutions,  and  of  the  nature  and  meaning 
of  democracy.*'  Democracy,  insisted  Cooley,  is  not 
merely  a  political  type,  but  instead  is  a  principle  of 
breadth  in  organization.  "  It  involves  a  change  in  the 
character  of  social  discipline  not  confined  to  politics,  but 
as  much  at  home  in  one  sphere  as  in  another." 

Democracy  does  not  suppress  personality,  but  on  the 
contrary  welcomes  it.  That  public  opinion  is  necessarily 
average  opinion  is  not  essentially  true.  He  reasons  that 
the  collective  judgment  may  be  and  often  is  superior  to 
the  average  judgment,  the  originality  of  the  masses  con- 
sisting in  their  sentiments  and  the  fact  that  they  are  close 
to  the  springs  of  human  nature.  The  critical  faculty  of 
the  democracy  is  most  effectively  used,  however,  when 
its  range  is  limited;  and  is  more  accurate  in  its  judgment 
of  persons  than  of  measures.  The  significance  of  leader- 
ship in  a  democracy  is  examined  and  appraised  by 
Cooley.*®     Public   opinion   must   on    the   whole   be   re- 

85  Charles  H.  Cooley,  "  Human  Nature  and  the  Social  Order," 
1902;  "Social  Organization"   (1909). 

8*  "  Human  Nature  and  the  Social  Order,"  Ch.  8  and  9 ;  see  also 
Dealy,  J.  Q.,  "  Sociology,"  1909 ;  Ellwood,  C.  A.,  "  Sociology  in  its 
Psychological  Aspects,"  1903;  also  E.  Hayes,  "Introduction,"  IQISI 
Blackmar,  "  Elements,"  1915 ;  A.  F.  Bentley,  "  Process  of  Govern- 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  41I 

garded  as  "  a  latent  authority,"  generally  exercised  by 
the  public  only  when  dissatisfied  with  the  judgment  of  a 
specialist  in  exercising  some  function.  On  the  whole,  he 
concludes  that  government  is  only  one  agent  of  the  public 
will ;  "  merely  one  way  of  doing  things,  fitted  by  its 
character  for  doing  some  things  and  unfitted  for  doing 
others."  It  is  likely  to  be  too  mechanical,  too  rigid, 
costly  and  inhuman,  but  has  the  counter-balancing  ad- 
vantages of  power,  reach  and  definite  responsibility.  The 
number  of  instances  of  state  regulations,  he  pointed  out, 
is  rapidly  increasing,  but  whether  state  control  is  in- 
creasing relatively  to  the  new  conditions,  he  questioned. 
Patten  undertook  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  new  sys- 
tem of  economics,  politics  and  sociology.*''  The  basis  of 
his  philosophy  lay  in  the  distinction  drawn  between  what 
he  termed  the  "  pain  economy  "  or  period  and  the  "  pleas- 
ure economy  "  or  period,  in  the  history  of  mankind.  In 
one  —  the  "  pain  economy  " —  men  are  influenced  chiefly 
by  fear,  and  in  the  other  by  desire  for  some  pleasurable 
end.  Let  us  picture,  he  says,  a  social  commonwealth  in 
which  there  are  no  enemies  to  avoid  and  where  the 
greatest  evils  to  be  met  are  those  arising  from  intemper- 
ance, disease  and  crime.  Under  these  conditions,  social 
impulses  would  be  developed  adequate  to  the  purpose  of 
maintaining  social  life.     In  the  economic  field  groups  of 

ment,"  1908 ;  Compare  J.  M.  Baldwin,  "  Social  and  Ethical  Interpre- 
tations," 1897;  Sumner,  "Folkways,"  1907;  Thomas,  "Race  Psychol- 
ogy," A.  J.  S.,  XVII,  725;  "Source  Book  for  Social  Origins,  1909; 
"  The  Polish  Peasant  in  Europe  and  America,"  I,  pp.  1-86  on  Method- 
ology of  Social  Science;  Stuckenberg,  J.  H.  W.,  "Sociology,"  1898; 
Davis,  M.  M.,  "  Psychological  Interpretations  of  Society,"  1909. 
8T  Simon  N.  Patten,  "  The  Theory  of  Social  Forces,"  1896. 


412  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

producers  would  be  automatically  brought  together.  In 
the  social  field  esthetic  ideals  would  be  substituted  for  the 
moral.  In  the  political  world  he  suggests  something  like 
the  medieval  guild  system.  State  socialism,  he  thought, 
is  an  ideal  of  those  suffering  under  the  "  pain  economy," 
but  "  pleasure  economy  "  would  be  that  of  a  loosely  or- 
ganized social  commonwealth,  not  an  all-inclusive,  all- 
regulating  state.  Citizens  of  such  a  commonwealth 
"  would  not  understand  what  a  state  is  if  the  word  were 
used  in  its  present  sense." 

Numerous  other  studies  were  made  by  sociologists, 
bordering  on  the  field  of  politics.  Conspicuous  among 
these  were  Henderson,^^  with  a  long  series  of  others, 
notably  in  the  field  of  public  philanthropy. 

Specific  studies  were  made  in  the  field  of  the  delin- 
quent, defective  and  dependent,  and  notable  progress  was 
made  in  the  practical  amelioration  of  conditions.^*  Of 
special  significance  on  the  side  of  method  was  the  de- 
velopment of  the  "  social  survey,"  a  local  study  of  social 
problems  designed  as  a  basis  for  intelligent  community 
action.*** 

A  unique  study  was  that  of  Shailer  Matthews,  whose 
part  in  the  social  movement  has  already  been  noted.  In 
an  incisive  inquiry  into  the  relations  between  social,  polit- 

8* "  The  Social  Spirit  in  America,"  1897 ;  "  Dependent,  Defective 
and  Delinquent  Classes,"  1893 ;  "  Social  Duties  from  the  Christian 
Point  of  View,"  1909;  "Modern  Methods  of  Charity,"  1904;  E.  T. 
Devine,  "Spirit  of  Social  Work"  191 1;  "Social  Forces,"  1910. 

89  Breckinridge  and  Abbot,  "  The  Delinquent  Child,"  1912.  Flex- 
ner  and  Baldwin,  "  Juvenile  Courts  and  Probation,"  1914. 

90  Russell  Sage  Foundation  Publications,  Department  of  Surveys 
and  Exhibits. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  413 

ical  and  religious  ideals,  he  traced  many  fundamental  but 
little  noticed  connections  between  political  theories  and 
theology.'^  Doctrine  is  the  "  result  of  a  dominant  social 
mind  at  work  in  religion,"  and  can  be  understood  only  in 
the  light  of  social  and  political  forces  and  theories.  In 
this  spirit  he  traced  the  influence  of  the  Independent,  the 
Feudal,  the  Nationalist,  the  Bourgeois  and  the  Modem 
social  mind  upon  "  doctrine,"  with  special  emphasis  upon 
the  effect  of  political  terms  and  concepts  upon  theology. 
His  conclusion  is  a  plea  for  a  doctrinal  system  reflecting 
or  incorporating  the  passion  of  the  modern  democratic 
social  mind  for  justice. 

Political  economy  during  this  period  attained  inde- 
pendent recognition  as  an  academic  study.  Perry,  Dun- 
bar, Bowen,  Sumner  and  Walker  early  in  this  epoch  oc- 
cupied chairs  of  instruction  in  political  economy.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  period,  economics  was  chiefly  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  English  classical  economy,  while  its  prac- 
tical efforts  were  devoted  to  international  free  trade  and 
general  laissez  faire.  Later,  the  modern  social  forces 
were  felt,  as  well  as  scientific  tendencies. 

Henry  George's  "Progress  and  Poverty"  (1879), 
gave  a  violent  impetus  to  public  discussion  of  funda- 
mental economic  doctrines.^^  His  wide  vogue  depended 
not  merely  on  his  advocacy  of  a  special  form  of  public 
revenue  —  the  single  tax  —  but  on  his  keen  and  vigorous 
attack  upon  orthodox  political  economy.  Socialistic  the- 
ories had  thus  far  made  little  impression,  but  the  tax  doc- 

91  Theology  and  the  Social  Mind,  Biblical  World.    Vol.  46  (1915). 

»2P.  A.  Speck,  "The  Single  Tax  and  the  Labor  Movement,"  U. 
of  Wis.  Bulletin  No.  878;  A.  N.  Young,  "The  Single  Tax  Move- 
ment in  the  United  States"  (1916). 


414  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

trines  of  George  were  widely  popular  and  influential, 
arousing  not  only  interest  but  deep  enthusiasm.  The 
element  of  deepest  interest  was  his  evident  sympathy 
with  the  widespread  social  and  industrial  unrest,  and  his 
courageous  attempt  to  find  a  way  out.  His  sweeping 
and  confident  diagnosis  of  social  disease  was  the  key  to 
his  power.^^ 

One  of  the  most  striking  figures  in  the  early  field,  and 
in  fact  throughout  much  of  the  period,  was  Sumner,  a 
student  of  theology,  politics,  economics  and  sociology  in 
the  order  enumerated.®*  His  early  study  on  "  What  So- 
cial Classes  Owe  To  Each  Other  "  was  the  highwater 
mark  in  the  let-alone  theory  of  government,  and  this  doc- 
trine was  forcefully  continued  by  Sumner  for  a  genera- 
tion. His  study  in  "  Folkways,"  a  quarter  of  a  century 
later,  was  notable  in  the  field  of  sociology. 

In  1885,  the  foundation  of  the  American  Economic  As- 
sociation gave  a  great  impulse  to  the  scientific  study  of 
economic  questions.®^  The  Quarterly  Journal  of  Eco- 
nomics was  established  in  1890,  the  Yale  Review  in  1892, 
and  the  Journal  of  Political  Economy  in  1893.  General 
Walker  published  his  "  Political  Economy "  in  1883, 
Professor  Clark  his  "Philosophy  of  Wealth"  hi  1885, 
Laughlin  his  "  Elements  of  Political  Economy  "  in  1887, 
and  Ely  the  "  Introduction  to  Political  Economy "  in 
1889. 

93  See  his  "  Social  Problems,"  1883. 

•*  See  H.  E.  Barnes,  "  Two  Representative  Contributions  of  Soci- 
ology to  Political  Theory,"  A.  J.  S.,  XXV.  With  Sumner  compare 
Edw.  Atkinson,  "Addresses  upon  the  Labor  Question,"  1886;  David 
A.  Wells,  "  Practical  Economics,"  1888. 

95  See  Small,  "  Fifty  Years,"  p.  779. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  415 

The  political  economists  of  this  period  were  concerned 
partly  with  the  problems  of  the  older  "  classical "  eco- 
nomic theory,  as  modified  by  later  English  developments 
and  by  Austrian  and  German  thinkers;  and  partly  with 
the  current  questions  of  public  policy  and  administra- 
tion.®®  Under  the  latter  head  the  chief  interest  lay  first 
in  the  discussion  of  the  tariff,  later  in  the  currency  ques- 
tion, then  in  corporation  control  and  in  taxation.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  period,  increasing  attention  was  given  to 
the  problems  of  industrial  organization  and  education. 
The  general  tendency  of  economists  was  toward  a  modi- 
fied theory  of  individualism,  although  upon  this  point 
there  were  wide  differences  of  opinion.  In  the  earlier 
part  of  the  period  there  was  a  disposition  to  follow  cer- 
tain so-called  "  natural  laws  "  whose  uninterrupted  opera- 
tion, it  was  assumed,  would  automatically  produce  the 
best  results.  This  argument  was  conspicuous  particu- 
larly in  the  discussion  of  the  tariff,  where  many  econo- 
mists advocated  "  free  trade."  To  some  extent  the  same 
doctrine  was  applied  to  economic  evolution.  In  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  period,  however,  there  was  a  strong  ten- 
dency to  emphasize  the  importance  of  state  action,  al- 
though this  was  sometimes  justified  merely  as  a  removal 
of  artificial  obstructions  to  the  natural  action  of  indus- 
trial forces. 

Far-reaching  studies  on  the  border  line  between  eco- 
nomics and  politics  were  made  by  Veblen.^^  In  his 
earliest  work,  Veblen  analyzed  with  classical  irony  the 

«*  Haney,  "  History  of  Economic  Thought." 

»7  Thorstein  Veblen,  "The  Theory  of  the  Leisure  Class,"  1899; 
"The   Theory   of    Business    Enterprise,"    1904;    "The    Instinct    of 


4l6  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

useless  expenditures  occasioned  by  the  desire  for  distinc- 
tion, and  scored  the  useless  types  of  expenditure,  which 
he  characterized  as  "  conspicuous  waste."  In  an  in- 
genious study  later,  Veblen  undertook  to  find  the  origin 
of  natural  rights  and  natural  liberty  in  the  period  of  the 
handicraft  industry.  Natural  rights  he  defined  as  "  an 
institutional  by-product  of  workmanship  under  the  handi- 
craft system."  ^^  He  reasoned  that  under  the  craft  sys- 
tem the  individual  workman  was  thrown  back  upon  his 
own  resources,  where  it  appeared  that  the  most  sacred 
right  was  that  of  property  in  what  he  individually  pro- 
duced. This  right  was  thus  made  by  usage  and  "  in- 
alienable right."  But  the  system  of  capitalism  which 
grew  up  later  was  used  against  the  workman  under  dif- 
ferent conditions.  When  these  natural  rights  were  fully 
established,  trade  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  capitalist  or 
the  large-scale  producer,  so  that  the  workman  found 
himself  free  "  to  dispose  of  his  labor  only  to  the  capitalist 
and  at  the  same  time  the  full  right  of  ownership  property 
fell  to  the  capitalist  also." 

In  his  "  Theory  of  Business  Enterprise  "  he  undertook 
to  show  that  the  essential  motive  power  of  business  to- 
day is  not  social  efficiency,  but  ability  to  secure  pecuniary 
reward  or  profit  without  any  necessary  regard  to  the 
character  or  quantity  of  service  rendered  to  the  com- 
munity in  return  therefor.  Government,  he  maintained, 
represents  and  reflects  in  general  the  desires  of  business. 

Workmanship,"   1914;   The   Place  of   Science  in   Modern   Civiliza- 
tion, in  A.  J.  S.,  XI,  585  (1906)  ;  The  Preconceptions  of  Economic 
Science,  Quarterly  Journal  Economics,  XIII,  121,  396;  XIV,  240, 
88  "Instinct  of  Workmanship,"  p.  341. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  4^7 

Constitutional  government  he  characterized  as  "  a  de- 
partment of  business  organization  guided  by  the  advice 
of  the  business  man."  Modern  poHtics  is  business  poli- 
tics in  the  literal  sense  of  the  term.®" 

Of  still  more  fundamental  importance  was  his  analysis 
of  the  relation  of  modern  civilization  to  the  machine 
process.  The  machine,  he  asserted,  has  become  the  mas- 
ter of  the  man  who  works  it,  and  controls  the  cultural 
fortunes  of  the  community  into  whose  life  it  has  en- 
tered. The  machine  technology  tends  constantly  to  pro- 
duce a  standardized  intellectual  life  in  which  regularity 
of  consequence,  mechanical  precision  and  measurements 
in  terms  of  pressure,  temperature,  velocity  and  tensile 
strength  are  likely  to  drive  out  other  ideas.  Habits  of 
thought  and  methods  of  reasoning  tend  to  shift  from 
the  conventional,  the  pecuniary,  the  legal,  the  mechanical, 
the  industrial,  to  reasoning  in  terms  of  causation  —  from 
the  de  jure  to  the  de  facto.  Accompanying  this  process 
he  found  a  general  tendency  toward  the  weakening  of  the 
traditional  ideas  of  piety,  allegiance,  conviction.  "  The 
ubiquitous  presence  of  the  machine  with  its  spiritual 
concomitants  —  work-day  ideals  and  a  skepticism  of 
what  is  only  conventionally  valid  —  is  the  unequivocal 
work  of  Western  culture  to-day  as  contrasted  with  the 
culture  of  other  times  and  places."  ^  Thus  the  machine 
system,  as  he  interprets  it,  fundamentally  affects  the 
family,  religion  and  the  state.  It  afifects  the  whole  range 
and  scope  of  human  thought  in  the  most  fundamental 

••"The  Theory  of  Business  Enterprise,"  Chap.  VIII,  on  "Busi- 
ness Principles,"  in  Law  and  Politics. 
1  Op.  cit.,  p.  323. 


4l8  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

way.  The  cultural  growth  dominated  by  the  machine 
industry  is  "  of  skeptical,  matter-of-fact  complexion,  ma- 
terialistic, unmoral,  unpatriotic,  undevout."  ^  Veblen 
discovers  a  connection  in  "  point  of  time,  place  and  race 
between  the  modern  machine  technology,  the  material 
sciences,  religious  skepticism,  and  that  spirit  of  insubor- 
dination that  makes  the  substance  of  what  are  called 
free  or  popular  institutions."  ^  Thought  is  fixed  or 
tends  to  fix  not  on  "  first  causes,"  not  on  the  final  out- 
come or  distant  purpose  of  things,  but  on  the  actual 
process  as  it  goes  on  with  the  results  that  develop  from 
day  to  day,  and  the  effect  upon  the  welfare  of  the  time 
present  rather  than  of  the  golden  age  in  the  past  or 
future.^ 

Notable  contributions  to  the  clearer  understanding  of 
industrial  problems  and  their  relation  to  politics  were 
made  by  Ely,^  Wright,^  Commons  ^  and  many  others. 
Ely  was  a  courageous  pioneer,  who  undertook  the  scien- 

2  Op.  cit,  p.  372. 

3  "  Instinct  of  Workmanship,"  p.  201. 

*  See  also  "The  Nature  of  Peace,"  discussed  in  Ch.  IX. 

5  "Past  and  Present  of  Political  Economy,"  1884;  "Recent  Amer- 
ican Socialism,"   1885 ;  "  The  Labor  Movement  in  America,"  1886 
"  Social  Aspects  of  Christianity,"  1889;  "  Problems  of  To-day,"  1888 
"Socialism,"    1894;    "Studies   in   Evolution   of   Industrial    Society," 
1903;   "Monopolies  and  Trusts,"   1900;   "Property  and   Contract," 

1914- 

8  Carroll  D.  Wright,  "  Relation  of  Political  Economy  to  the  Labor 
Question,"  1882;  "Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States,"  1895. 

■^  John  R.  Commons,  "Social  Reform  and  the  Church,"  1894; 
"Distribution  of  Wealth,"  1893;  "Documentary  History  American 
Industrial  Society,"  1910,  1911;  "Labor  and  Administration,"  1913; 
"  Principles  of  Labor  Legislation,"  1916  (with  Andrews)  ;  and  other 
works. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  419 

tific  analysis  of  social  and  political  facts  in  the  face  of 
vigorous  opposition  and  persecution.  He  established  the 
principle  of  free  inquiry  into  social  problems,  and  for  a 
generation  served  as  an  inspiration  to  the  scientific  study 
of  industrial-political  problems.*  Of  special  value  were 
the  studies  made  by  Commons,  likewise  a  courageous  ex- 
plorer of  social  territory,  in  the  field  of  industrial  history. 

Much  of  the  time  of  economists  was  spent  in  refuting 
the  doctrines  of  Socialists  —  a  topic  to  which  much  at- 
tention has  been  devoted  during  the  last  generation  in 
particular.  One  of  the  first  volumes  was  that  of  Wool- 
sey,  in  1880,  on  "  Communism  and  Socialism."  To  this 
initial  attack  was  added  an  argument  by  practically  all  of 
the  leading  economists  either  as  a  part  of  some  general 
treatise  or  in  more  specialized  form.  General  Walker's 
spirited  reply  to  Bellamy's  "  Looking  Backward  "  was  an 
interesting  feature  of  his  day.  This  was  followed  by 
many  criticisms  of  Socialism,  ranging  from  technical 
economic  theory  to  broader  considerations  of  social  and 
political  policy.®  The  systematic  presentation  of  Social- 
ism by  its  advocates  has  already  been  discussed,  and  need 
not  be  rehearsed  here.  In  general,  it  followed  Marxian 
lines,  without  as  much  "  revision  "  as  was  found  on  the 
Continent  or  in  England. 

The  study  of  public  finance  was  greatly  stimulated  by 

*  Compare  Eugen  von  Phillipovitch,  "  Social  Political  Ideas  in 
German  Exonomics,"  A.  J.  S.,  17,  145. 

9  Among  the  more  searching  of  these  were  Veblen,  The  Socialist 
Economics  of  Karl  Marx  and  His  Followers,  Q.  J.  E.,  20,  575,  21, 
299;  Simkhovitch,  "Marxism  vs.  Socialism,"  1913;  Small,  Socialism 
in  the  Light  of  Social  Science,  A.  J.  S.,  XVII,  804;  Le  Rossignol, 
"Orthodox  Socialism,  A  Criticism,"  1907. 


420  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  thought  of  Seligman,^"  Adams/^  Plehn/^  and  many 
others. ^^  To  the  problems  of  taxation  both  theoretical 
and  practical  much  detailed  attention  was  given;  and  a 
persistent  effort  made  to  outline  a  constructive  program 
of  tax  reform.  Seligman  in  particular  emphasized  the 
importance  of  the  income  tax,  based  on  ability  to  pay,  as 
a  just  measure  of  democratic  contribution  to  the  support 
of  the  state.  Practically  all  united  in  condemnation  of 
the  current  taxing  system  as  unjust  and  undemocratic. 

Scientific  study  of  the  vital  immigration  problem  was 
begun  during  this  period,  and  pushed  forward  by  many 
inquirers.  A  Federal  inquiry  was  made  in  1890,  and  a 
far  more  elaborate  investigation  was  begun  in  1907  and 
published  in  1911.^*  From  1882  when  the  first  Federal 
immigration  law  of  this  period  was  enacted  to  the  passage 
of  the  Act  of  19 1 7,  there  was  animated  discussion  of  the 
relation  of  immigration  to  the  social,  economic  and  po- 
litical life  of  the  nation. ^^  A  battle  center  was  the  liter- 
acy test,  vetoed  by  President  Cleveland  in  1897,  Taft  in 
1913,  Wilson  in  1915  and  1917,  but  finally  made  effective 
notwithstanding. 

Among  the  more  significant  studies  were  the  early 
work  of   Mayo   Smith  on  "  Emigration  and   Immigra- 

10  "  Essays  in  Taxation,"  1895. 

"  "  Science  of  Finance,"  1898. 

""Public  Finance,"  1896. 

13  "  Proceedings  National  Tax  Association,"  190&-;  S.  F.  Weston, 
"  Principles  of  Justice  in  Taxation,"  1903. 

1*  Senate  Doc.  747,  6ist  Cong.,  3rd  Sess,  42  vols,  of  especial  value 
is  Vol  I ;  the  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission  of  1913  is  of 
exceptional  value. 

IB  A  good  general  summary  is  contained  in  Mary  K.  Reely's  "  Se- 
lected Articles  on  Immigration,"  Ed.  1915. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  421 

tion  "  (1890),  those  of  Jenks  and  Lauck,  the  "  Immigra- 
tion Problem"  (191 1);  Hourwich,  "Immigration  and 
Labor"  (1912);  Commons,  "Races  and  Immigrants'* 
(1907)  ;  Abbott,  "  The  Immigrant  and  the  Community  " 
(1917);  Woods,  "Americans  in  Process "  ^^  (1902). 
These  studies,  based  upon  observation  and  personal  ex- 
perience, were  directed  toward  more  scientific  treatment 
of  what  had  been  a  typical  and  fundamental  problem  of 
national  life  for  three-quarters  of  a  century.  The  re- 
sources of  investigation  and  statistical  interpretation  were 
brought  into  play  in  the  effort  to  find  a  solid  basis  of  fact 
for  a  policy. 

Still  broader  in  scope  were  the  inquiries  in  anthropology 
and  ethnology  of  which  this  period  saw  the  beginning. 
Morgan's  studies  early  attracted  wide  attention  in  the 
scientific  world. ^'^  Ripley  published  his  "  Races  of 
Europe  "  in  1899,  stimulating  interest  in  the  study  of 
origins,  already  long  developed  in  Europe.  Boas,^* 
Thomas,^^  Sumner,^*'  and  others  ^^  undertook  investiga- 
tions in  special  fields.     At  many  points  these  inquiries 

"See  also  E.  A.  Steiner,  "The  Immigrant  Tide,"  1909;  P.  F. 
Hall,  "Immigration,"  1906;  E.  A.  Ross,  "The  Old  World  in  the 
New,"  1914.  For  the  earlier  and  less  critical  type  see  Joseph  Cook, 
"  Unamerican  Immigration,"  1894. 

"L.  H.  Morgan,  "Ancient  Society,"  1877;  "The  League  of  the 
Iroquois,"  1904. 

18  Franz  Boas,  "Anthropology,"  1908;  "The  Mind  of  Primitive 
Man,"  191 1. 

i»  W.  I.  Thomas,  "  Sex  and  Society  " ;  "  Social  Origins,"  1909,  with 
bibliography. 

20  W.  G.  Sumner,  "Folkways,"  1906. 

21  Webster,  H.,  "Primitive  Secret  Societies,"  1908;  "The  Ameri- 
can Anthropologist,"  passim. 


422  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

touched  the  field  of  political  institutions  and  the  theory 
of  the  state.22 

In  the  field  of  formal  philosophy,  and  notably  in  the 
province  of  ethics,  significant  contributions  were  made  to 
the  development  of  political  thought.^^  Varied  influ- 
ences were  operating  in  the  field  of  philosophy.  Some  of 
these  were  German  in  their  nature,  and  particularly 
Hegelian.  Others  were  of  English  origin  and  of  these 
by  far  the  most  influential  were  the  doctrines  of  Darwin 
and  Spencer. 

Royce,  representing  the  idealists,  discussed  the  rela- 
tion between  the  world  and  the  individual  (1901)  in 
absolutist  style.  Politically  he  was  influenced  by  Mill 
and  Spencer,  but  on  the  whole  he  arrived  at  moderating 
conclusions,  as  far  as  the  doctrine  of  the  state  was  con- 
cerned.^* Baldwin,  in  connection  with  his  suggestive 
studies  in  social  psychology,  discussed  the  problem  of  the 
individual  and  the  state.^^ 

But  by  far  the  most  striking  and  significant  studies 
were  those  made  by  William  James,^*^  and  John  Dewey,^'^ 

22  See  Eben  Mumford's   "  Origins  of   Leadership,"   1909. 

23  See  Woodbridge  Riley,  "  American  Thought,"  1915. 
2*  See  his  "  Spirit  of  Modern  Philosophy,"   1892. 

25  James  Mark  Baldwin,  "  Mental  Development  in  the  Child  and 
the  Race,"  1895;  "The  Individual  and  Society,"  1911 ;  "Development 
and  Evolution,"  1902;  "Philosophy  and  Science,"  1902;  "Darwin 
and  the  Humanities,"  1909;  "Social  and  Ethical  Interpretations 
in  Mental  Development,"  1897;  Daniel  G.  Brinton,  "The  Basis  of 
Social  Relations,"  1902. 

20  "The  Will  to  Believe,"  1897;  "  Pragmatism,"  1907;  "A  Plural- 
istic Universe,"  1909;  "The  Meaning  of  Truth,"  1909. 

2T "  The  School  and  Society,"  1899;  "Influence  of  Darwin  on 
Philosophy,"  1910 ;  "  Democracy  and  Education,"  1916. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  423 

two  striking  figures  in  American  philosophy,  and  a  group 
associated  with  them  under  the  name  of  "  Pragmatists."  ^' 
With  this  group  were  allied  others  who  were  engaged  in 
the  common  task  of  creating  social  ethics,  endeavoring  to 
reach  a  basis  appropiate  to  a  democratic  society  and  state. 
Among  these  were  Tufts,^^  and  Mead,^**  and  less  closely, 
Jane  Addams;  ^^  and  others  who  blazed  the  way  for  dem- 
ocratic ethics. 

"  Pragmatism  "  as  a  philosophy  was  less  concerned 
than  "  Rationalism  "  or  "  Absolutism  "  with  first  causes 
or  principles,  or  with  equally  absolute  ultimate  aims  or 
purposes,^^  Pragmatism  is  essentially  experimental, 
looking  toward  "  fruits,  consequences,  facts  " —  a  trial 
balance  system  evolving  its  philosophy  as  it  goes.  "  The 
idea  and  the  ideal  to  which  it  pins  its  faith,"  says  Moore, 
"  and  from  which  it  draws  its  inspiration  are  those  which 
are  wrought  out  and  tried  out  in  our  world  of  struggle,  of 

28  See  the  valuable  summary  by  A.  W.  Moore,  "  Pragmatism  and 
Its  Critics,"  1910.  Compare  criticism  by  C.  M.  Bakewell,  "Latter- 
Day  Flowing  Philosophy,"  1904. 

23  James  H.  Tufts,  "Our  Democracy,"  1917;  Why  Should  Law 
and  Philosophy  Get  Together?,  Int.  Journal  Ethics,  XXV,  188,  and 
other  writings. 

30  George  H.  Mead,  Natural  Rights,  Journal  of  Phil.  Psych,  and 
Scientific  Methods,  XII,  141  (1915)  ;  "The  Social  Self,"  Ibid.,  X,  374 
(1913)  ;  Social  Psychology,  Psych.  Bulletin,  VI,  401  (1909)  ;  "  Scien- 
tific Method  and  Individual  Thinker"  in  "Collective  Intelligence," 
176-227. 

31- "Twenty  Years  at  Hull  House,"  1910;  "Democracy  and  Social 
Ethics,"  1902;  "Newer  Ideals  of  Peace,"  1907;  "The  Spirit  of 
Youth,"  1909;  "A  New  Conscience  and  An  Ancient  Evil,"  1912; 
"The  Long  Road  of  Woman's  Memory,"  1916;  see  Harvard  Guide 
to  Reading  in  Social  Ethics  and  Allied  Subjects,  1910. 

32  R.  B.  Perry,  "The  Present  Conflict  of  Ideals,"  1918. 


424  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

defeats  and  victories,"  Pragmatism  is  a  tentative  phil- 
osophy of  developing  life.  Its  basis  lies  in  the  broad  his- 
torical background  of  modern  life,  in  the  central  place  of 
evolution  in  the  scheme  of  modern  thought,  in  the  social 
character  of  consciousness  — "  in  short,  it  bears  many  of 
the  resemblances  of  the  general  theory  of  things  adapted 
to  a  democratic  era."  In  ethics  its  followers  applied  it  to 
the  evolutionary  theory  of  morality,  although  they  did  not 
originate  this  point  of  viev^^. 

Dewey  applied  the  doctrine  to  the  problems  of  democ- 
racy, particularly  in  connection  with  the  study  of  the  edu- 
cational process,  but  by  no  means  confining  it  to  this  field. 
"  When  a  theory  of  knowledge,"  said  Dewey,  "  forgets 
that  its  value  rests  in  solving  the  problem  out  of  which  it 
has  arisen,  viz.,  that  of  securing  a  method  of  action  .  .  . 
it  begins  to  cumber  the  ground.  It  is  a  luxury,  hence  a 
social  nuisance  and  disturber."  Democracy  requires  a 
new  philosophy  and  a  new  psychology.  '*  Democracy, 
the  crucial  expression  of  modern  life,  is  not  so  much  an 
addition  to  the  scientific  and  industrial  tendencies  as  it  is 
the  perception  of  their  spiritual  or  social  meaning."  ^* 
This  necessary  philosophy  cannot  be  found  in  the  worn- 
out  systems  of  earlier  days,  but  must  be  developed  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  demands  of  modern  conditions.  This 
philosophy  may  be  furnished  by  pragmatism  with  its  ex- 
perimental, tentative,  day-by-day  and  problem-by-prob- 
lem method.  It  will  supply  the  standards  and  sanctions 
rapidly  disappearing  under  the  dissolving  tendencies  of 
modern  life.  Social  ethics  should  not  be  isolated  from 
the  practical  world,  nor  should  politics  become  merely  a 
"  "  Influence  of  Darwin,"  p.  59. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  425 

refined  statement  of  tribal  traditions.  They  should  both 
attempt  to  translate  philosophy  from  a  general  and  there- 
fore abstract  method  into  a  working  and  specific  method. 
**  I  believe,"  said  he,  "  that  philosophy  in  America  will  be 
lost  between  chewing  a  historic  cud  long  since  reduced  to 
woody  fiber,  or  an  apologetics  for  lost  causes  (lost  to 
natural  science),  or  a  scholastic,  schematic,  formalism, 
unless  it  can  somehow  bring  to  consciousness  America's 
own  needs  and  its  own  implicit  principle  of  successful 
action."  " 

The  need  may  be  met  by  means  of  "  a  deliberate  con- 
trol of  policies  by  the  method  of  intelligence,"  But  this 
"  intelligence  "  is  not  that  "  honored  in  text  books,  and 
neglected  elsewhere,"  but  is  "  the  sum  total  of  impulses, 
habits,  emotions,  records  and  discoveries,  which  forecast 
what  is  desirable  and  undesirable  in  future  possibilities, 
and  which  contrive  ingeniously  in  behalf  of  imagined 
good."  "^  Without  such  a  principle  we  tend  to  combine 
loose,  ineffective,  optimistic  idealism  with  a  practical  real- 
istic acceptance  of  the  theory  of  "  take  who  take  can." 
All  peoples  have  been  "  narrowly  realistic  in  practice," 
and  then  employed  "  idealization  to  cover  up  in  sentiment 
and  theory  their  brutalities." 

Democracy,  said  Dewey,  is  more  than  a  form  of  gov- 
ernment. It  is  primarily  a  mode  of  associated  living,  of 
conjoint  communicative  experience.  Its  essential  char- 
acteristics are  the  wider  "  area  of  shared  concerns  "  and 
*'  the  liberation  of  the  greater  diversity  of  personal  ca- 

3*  "Creative  Intelligence,"  p.  67. 

85  See  "Creative  Intelligence"   (1917),  by  Dewey,  Moore,  Mead, 
Tufts  and  others. 


426  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

pacities."  In  this  spirit  he  discusses  the  problems  of  edu- 
cation developing  in  a  state  where  popular  rule  is  the 
fundamental  and  accepted  principle. 

A  great  end  of  education  is  "  social  efficiency,"  but  this 
must  not  be  interpreted  merely  in  economic  terms  of  ma- 
terial output.  It  involves  also  "  civic  efficiency,"  "  ca- 
pacity to  share  in  the  give  and  take  of  experience."  It 
involves  "  nothing  less  than  socialization  of  mmd."  '" 
Its  chief  constituent  is  sympathy  and  good  will. 

Education  is  a  social  process  to  be  carried  out  in  a  social 
spirit.  Democratic  education,  unless  it  is  to  be  "  a  farci- 
cal yet  tragic  delusion,"  must  open  the  doors  of  oppor- 
tunity wide,  and  must  so  far  modify  traditional  ideals 
of  culture,  subjects  of  study,  and  methods  of  teaching  and 
discipline  as  to  make  youth  master  of  its  economic  and 
social  career.  Democratic  education  must  give  individu- 
als "  a  personal  interest  in  social  relationship  and  control, 
and  the  habits  of  mind  which  secure  social  changes  with- 
out introducing  disorder."  ^'  The  philosophies  of  the 
19th  century  made  the  national  state  the  agency  for  de- 
velopment, but  narrowed  the  conception  of  the  social  aim 
to  members  of  the  national  unit,  excluding  all  outside, 
and  reintroduced  the  idea  of  the  subordination  of  the  in- 
dividual to  the  institution.^^  But  a  democratic  society 
must  allow  for  full  intellectual  freedom  and  the  play  of 
diverse  gifts  and  interests  —  the  individual  variations 
developed  where  there  is  mental  freedom  and  growth. 

The  practical  influence  of  Pragmatism  was  great.     Af- 

86  "  Democracy  and  Education,"  p.  141. 

"P.  115. 

88  See  Ch.  22,  "The  Individual  and  the  World." 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  4^7 

fectecl  by  its  general  spirit  were  Roscoe  Pound,  in  socio- 
logical jurisprudence ;  Goodnow,  in  public  administration ; 
Croly  and  Lippman  in  their  political  enquiries;  and  to 
some  extent,  Veblen.  Broadly  speaking,  its  tendencies 
and  methods  coincided  with  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the 
liberal-conservative,  critical  constructive  movement  char- 
acteristic of  the  time.  Philosophically  its  range  was  made 
wider  than  this,  aiming  at  a  reconciliation  of  materialism 
and  idealism,  of  science  and  philosophy. 

A  unique  figure  during  the  latter  part  of  this  period 
was  Jane  Addams,  whose  long  and  intimate  experience 
with  urban,  industrial,  cosmopolitan  conditions  was 
summed  up  in  fragmentary  but  significant  social  studies. 
The  concepts  of  social  ethics  are  applied  to  charity,  to 
domestic  relations,  to  industrial  situations,  to  educational 
methods  and  to  political  reform  with  keen  insight  into 
actual  conditions  and  sympathy  with  democratic  ideals. 

Democracy  must  be  more  broadly  constructed ;  it  must 
afford  "  a  rule  of  living,  as  well  as  a  test  of  faith."  The 
identification  with  the  common  lot  is  the  essential  idea 
of  democracy,  and  also  the  source  of  social  ethics.  Her 
conclusion  is  that  while  the  perplexities  of  the  new  situa- 
tion are  most  keenly  felt  by  the  educated  and  self-con- 
scious, the  "  actual  attempts  at  adjustment  are  largely 
coming  through  those  who  are  simpler  and  less  analyti- 
cal." ^®  But  the  acceptance  of  democracy  brings  a  cer- 
tain life-giving  power  with  its  own  sanctions  and  com- 
forts —  the  most  obvious  of  which  is  that  "  a  certain 
basic  well-being  can  never  be  taken  away  from  us  what- 
ever the  turn  of  fortune." 
38  "  Democracy  and  Social  Ethics,"  p.  12. 


428  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

Contributions  to  political  philosophy  were  also  made 
by  a  great  group  of  historians  during  this  period.  The 
greater  part  of  the  historical  writing  of  the  time  was 
political  and  constitutional  in  its  scope  and  centered 
closely  around  the  essential  problems  of  the  state.  There 
was  seen,  however,  a  general  tendency  toward  the  broad- 
ening of  the  field  of  historical  inquiry  beyond  the  con- 
stitutional and  the  political  to  the  economic,  social,  re- 
ligious and  cultural.  This  general  tendency  toward  so- 
cial history,  although  not  fully  carried  out,  was  one  of  the 
most  striking  features  of  historical  writing  during  this 
time. 

A  notable  statement  of  this  doctrine  is  contained  in 
Turner's  presidential  Address,  of  1911,*^  and  likewise 
by  Jameson  *^  and  Robinson.'*^  Seligman  ^^  elaborated 
the  economic  interpretation  of  history  in  a  notable  mon- 
ograph. Beard's  ^*  studies  in  economic  interpretation  of 
political  events  were  significant  developments  in  historical 
treatment. 

Of  equal  significance  was  Ellen  Semple's  ^^  study  of 

*°F.  J.  Turner,  Social  Forces  in  American  History,  American 
Historical  Review,  XVI,  217. 

*ij.  F.  Jameson,  The  American  Acta  Sanctorum,  Am.  Hist.  Rev., 
XIII,  286. 

«"The  New  History"  (1912). 

*3  E.  R.  A.  Seligman,  "  The  Economic  Interpretation  of  History  " 
(1902).  Compare  the  early  work  of  John  W.  Draper,  "Thoughts  on 
Future  Civil  Policy  of  America"   (1867). 

**  Charles  A.  Beard,  "  An  Economic  Interpretation  of  the  Consti- 
tution," 1913 ;  "  Economic  Origins  of  Jeffersonian  Democracy " 
(1915).  Compare  Gustavus  Myers,  "History  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,"  1912. 

""American  History  and  Its  Geographic  Conditions,"  1903;  "In- 
fluence of  Geographic  Environment,"  191 1. 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  429 

geographical  influences  in  history.  Brooks  Adams  un- 
dertook an  interpretation  of  social  revolutions  in  terms  of 
the  economic  forces  in  society  ^®  elaborating  his  conclu- 
sions with  great  enthusiasm  and  energy. 

The  chief  tendencies  exhibited  in  the  systematic  study 
of  politics  during  this  period  were  the  development  of  the 
historical  and  comparative  method,  a  broader  social  out- 
look, and  the  beginnings  of  the  use  of  statistics  and  psy- 
chology. Beginning  with  the  '8o's,  the  social  sciences 
taken  together  occupied  the  interest  of  many  workers  who 
covered  a  wide  field  of  inquiry,  and  followed  their  pur- 
suits with  great  enthusiasm  and  interest.  That  they 
solved  the  problems  of  methodology  cannot  be  contended, 
but  that  material  progress  was  made  towards  sounder 
types  of  investigation  cannot  be  disputed.  At  best  the 
machinery  of  political  and  social  research  was  too  inade- 
quately manned  to  operate  the  mechanism  and  show  its 
possibilities.  Organization  and  action  on  a  large  scale 
was  not  possible  under  conditions  effectively  testing  the 
apparatus  of  scientific  social  inquiry.  Notwithstanding 
this,  notable  additions  were  made  to  the  progress  of  the 
time. 

Valuable  analyses  and  interpretations  of  political  forms 
and  forces  are  everywhere  evident.  These  were  frag- 
mentary and  imperfect,  but  possessed  a  distinct  social 
utility,  characteristically  incomplete,  with  wide  gaps  and 
many  ups  and  downs.  Yet  in  comparison  with  the  devel- 
opment of  the  preceding  half  century,  the  scientific  study 
of  politics  had  made  appreciable  headway,  and  the  last 

*«  "  The  Law  of  Civilization  and  Decay,"  1903 ;  "  The  Theory  of 
Social  Revolutions,"  1913- 


430  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

quarter  of  a  century  had  far  surpassed  the  period  pre- 
ceding it.  During  the  first  generation  of  our  history, 
the  politics  of  America  was  fully  abreast  of  the  best  po- 
litical thought  of  that  time,  and,  indeed,  as  the  writings 
of  Adams  and  Jefferson  show,  of  all  times.  In  the  next 
generation  this  technical  advantage  was  largely  lost,  dur- 
ing the  "  Jacksonian  "  democracy.  During  the  last  gen- 
eration, the  earlier  position  was  regained  under  leaders 
like  Roosevelt  and  Wilson,  reen  forced,  indeed,  by  the 
more  broadly  democratic  education  of  the  new  time. 
The  technique  of  inquiry  made  progress  with  the  aid  of 
history  and  statistics,  the  methods  of  legislation  were  ad- 
vanced somewhat,  while  the  organization  and  principles 
of  public  administration  were  set  ahead  in  theory  and  in 
practice.  At  the  same  time  the  technique  of  jurispru- 
dence tended  to  become  somewhat  more  scientific  and  its 
underlying  spirit  more  broadly  social.  It  is  easy  to  ex- 
aggerate the  advance  of  the  rational  and  scientific  spirit 
in  politics,  but  it  is  equally  easy  to  underestimate  the 
progress  of  education  in  political  affairs.  A  break-down 
in  government,  as  seen  in  mob  rule  or  the  treason  of  a  pub- 
lic official,  is  widely  heralded,  but  the  silent  advance  of 
scientific  methods  in  public  education,  in  legislation,  in 
administration,  in  the  ways  and  means  of  democratic 
rule,  is  less  spectacular  and  less  observed.  It  would 
not  be  difficult  to  formulate  a  critique  of  methods  and 
results,  but  in  viewing  the  historical  evolution  of  politics, 
the  significant  feature  is  the  beginnings  of  improved  tech- 
nique in  political  methods,  and  more  scientific  processes 
in  politics  and  the  allied  social  studies.     Broadly  speak- 


SYSTEMATIC  STUDIES  OF  POLITICS  43^ 

ing,  this  was  a  period  of  beginnings  rather  than  of  con- 
clusions, of  tentative  and  often  timid  advances  rather  than 
of  dogmatism  and  finality  in  the  field  of  systematic 
politics.  The  influence  of  class  was  relatively  strong  and 
the  influence  of  modern  scientific  method  relatively  weak. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

POLITICAL   IDEAS    IN    AMERICAN    LITERATURE  ^ 

Significant  were  the  political  tendencies  traceable  in 
the  literary  output  of  the  time.^  In  the  earlier  days  a 
great  part  in  the  social  development  of  the  time  was 
played  by  Emerson  and  the  highly  developed  individual- 
ism of  his  writings.  Whittier,  Lowell  and  Harriet 
Beecher  Stowe  had  been  important  factors  in  the  anti-slav- 
ery movement.  They  had  by  no  means  cultivated  sys- 
tematic political  philosophy,  but  they  had  profoundly  in- 
fluenced the  political  thinking  of  their  day,  just  as  the 
English  writers  of  the  type  of  Dickens,  Thackeray,  Elliott 
and  Ruskin  had  made  their  influence  felt  in  reformation 
of  English  social  conditions. 

At  first  the  literary  world  was  dominated  by  the  power- 
ful group  of  New  England  "  Brahmins  "  as  they  were 
called,  including  Emerson,  Longfellow,  Lowell,  Whit- 
tier, and  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes.'     These  remarkable 

1  For  a  portion  of  the  material  in  this  chapter  I  am  indebted  to  one 
of  my  students,  Mr.  Clyde  Hart,  who  is  writing  a  fuller  discussion 
of  this  topic. 

*  See  "  Cambridge  History  of  American  Literature "  and  studies 
cited  there ;  Vida  Scudder,  "  Social  Ideals  in  English  Letters " ; 
Bliss  Perry,  "The  American  Spirit  in  Literature";  Van  Wyck 
Brooks,  "  America's  Coming  of  Age " ;  Woodrow  Wilson,  "  Mere 
Literature,"  1896;  Percy  BojTiton,  "A  History  of  American  Litera- 
ture." 

'  See  Howells'  delightful  study,  "  Literary  Friends  and  Acquaint- 
ance." 

432 


POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE      433 

figures,  however,  were  the  product  of  the  first  half  of 
the  19th  century,  and  they  reflected  the  spirit  of  that  time. 
To  the  later  development  of  social,  industrial  and  political 
conditions,  after  the  Civil  War,  they  did  not  so  readily 
respond.  The  themes  they  chose  did  not  commonly  cen- 
ter around  the  urban  and  industrial  forces  now  working  so 
powerfully  on  the  lives  of  men.  These  distinguished 
writers  were  essentially  patrician  in  their  views  of  life; 
and  their  political  ideas,  while  by  no  means  consciously 
undemocratic,  were  the  thoughts  of  an  earlier  day. 
Their  fight  for  liberty  was  completed  with  the  emancipa- 
tion of  the  slave. 

Of  this  group  Lowell  was  the  most  politically  minded 
and  in  his  "  Essays  "  discussed  and  defended  democracy.* 
This  volume  was  based  on  his  addresses  while  Ambas- 
sador to  England,  and  constituted  a  type  of  apologetics. 
His  theme  was  chiefly  a  defence  of  democracy.  He  plead 
the  newness  of  popular  rule  and  the  growing  pains  that 
must  naturally  accompany  its  advance  to  maturity. 
There  may  be  much  "  rough  and  tumble  "  in  the  demo- 
cratic process,  but  on  the  whole  it  is  educational  in  tend- 
ency and  value.  "  Government  by  discussion "  is,  all 
things  considered,  a  desirable  alternative  to  that  of  force. 
Great  evils  had  sprung  up  in  democracy,  including  the 
"  enormous  inequalities  "  in  his  day.  These  must  be  cor- 
rected, he  believed,  though  Socialism  he  considered  a 
menace  to  society.  The  work  of  Lowell  was  character- 
ized by  a  grace  and  charm  which  give  it  an  exceptional 
value  in  the  literature  of  American  democracy. 

The  fundamentally  democratic  forces  in  the  literature 
*  James  Russell  Lowell,  "  Democracy,"  1884. 


434  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

of  this  period  began  with  Walt  Whitman,  "  the  good  gray 
poet  "  whose  rough,  plebeian  form  contrasted  sharply  with 
the  polished  finish  of  the  literary  leaders  of  his  day.'* 
Whitman's  writings  breathed  a  spirit  of  democratic  com- 
radeship and  sympathy  that  was  without  precedent  in 
American  literature.  "  Not  till  the  sun  excludes  you,  do 
I  exclude  you  "  sums  up  his  attitude  toward  his  fellow 
men.  The  influence  of  his  ideas  and  his  sentiment  was 
far-reaching  and  profound,  and  tended  to  increase  rather 
than  decline  as  time  went  on. 

To  Whitman  it  appeared  that  democracy  was  not 
merely  a  form  of  government.  "If  ever  accomplished," 
he  said,  "  it  will  be  at  least  as  much  ( I  think  likely  double 
as  much)  the  result  of  democratic  literature  and  arts  (if 
we  get  them)  as  of  democratic  parties."  ^  It  seemed  to 
him  that  democracy  must  have  its  own  art,  its  own  poetry, 
its  own  schools,  and  even  its  own  "  sociologies."  '^  "  Lit- 
erature," he  said,  *'  has  never  recognized  the  people,  and 
whatever  may  be  said,  it  does  not  to-day."  He  found 
three  stages  in  the  evolution  of  democracy  —  the  political 
foundation,  the  basis  of  material  prosperity,  and  finally 
what  he  termed  religious  democracy.  "  Taste,  intelli- 
gence and  culture  (so-called)  have  been  against  the 
masses  and  remain  so.  There  is  plenty  of  glamour  about 
the  most  damnable  crimes  and  hoggish  meannesses,  spe- 
cial and  general,  of  the  feudal  and  dynastic  world  over 

*"  Democratic  Vistas";  "Chants  Democratic";  "To  a  Foiled  Re- 
volter  or  Revoltress."  With  Whitman  compare  the  southern  poet, 
Sidney  Lanier,  in  his  "  Poems."  Of  note  is  that  on  "  Corn,"  and 
others  in  which  contemporary  commercial  ideals  are  criticized. 

^  Prose  Works,"  p.  323. 

"^  "  Democratic  Vistas,"  p.  205. 


POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE      435 

there  .  .  .  with  its  personnel  of  lords  and  queens  and 
courts  so  well  dressed  and  so  handsome.  But  the  People 
are  ungrammatical,  untidy  and  their  sins  gaunt  and  ill- 
bred."  Culture,  therefore,  must  be  given  democratic 
meaning  and  expression.  "  Democracy  must  have  at 
least  as  firm  and  as  warm  a  hold  in  men's  hearts,  emo- 
tions and  beliefs  as  the  days  of  feudalism  or  ecclesiasti- 
cism."  * 

Whitman  was  distinctly  the  champion  of  the  common 
man,  "  It  is  doubtful,"  he  said,  upon  one  occasion, 
"  whether  the  State  is  to  be  saved  either  in  the  monoto- 
nous long  run  or  in  the  tremendous  special  crises  by  its 
good  people  only."  Help  comes  from  strange  quarters. 
He  thought  it  might  be  necessary  to  "  cure  the  bite  with  a 
hair  of  the  same  dog."  He  looked  and  hoped  to  see  the 
official  personnel  of  the  government  changed.  He  would 
like  to  see  some  "  qualified  mechanics  "  in  Congress  and 
a  blacksmith  or  a  boatman  for  president. 

The  purpose  of  the  government  Whitman  believed  to 
be  not  merely  to  repress  disorder  but  to  develop  "  the 
possibilities  of  all  beneficence  and  manly  outcroppage  and 
of  that  aspiration  for  independence  and  the  pride  and  re- 
spect latent  in  all  characters."  ^  Whitman's  idea  of  a 
democracy's  security  was  that  of  the  "  safety  and  endur- 
ance of  the  aggregate  of  its  middling  property  own- 
ers." ^^     "  Democracy,"    he   said,    "  asks    for   men   and 

8  Emerson  he  considered  to  have  "  a  dandified  manner  —  all  sugar 
and  butter."  He  praised  Hegel's  idea,  saying,  "  It  is  strange  to  me 
that  they  were  born  in  Germany  or  the  Old  World  at  all."  See 
also  his  interesting  "  Russia  and  America,"  316. 

»  P.  218. 

"  P.  221. 


436  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

women  with  occupations,  well  off,  owners  of  houses  and 
acres,  and  with  cash  in  the  bank,  and  with  some  cravings 
for  literature,  too."  ^^  The  urban  and  industrial  tenden- 
cies just  coming  into  view  he  did  not  fully  recognize  as 
essentially  democratic.  On  the  contrary,  the  spirit  of 
democracy,  he  thought,  was  found  mainly  in  the  agricul- 
tural regions. 

For  almost  a  generation,  however.  Whitman  had  no 
successor,  and  there  was  no  great  voice  raised  in  defence 
of  the  broad  doctrines  of  human  fellowship  he  had  so 
vigorously  championed.  The  literary  form  of  his  works 
offended  many,  and  for  a  long  time  tended  to  overshadow 
his  broad  humanitarianism. 

In  1889,  Edward  Bellamy's  "  Looking  Backward," 
"was  published  and  quickly  attained  a  surprising  circula- 
tion. Inspired  by  his  doctrines  Nationalist  Clubs  were 
formed,  even  a  Nationalist  Party,  which,  however,  was 
short-lived.  Bellamy  depicted  a  socialistic  state  organ- 
ized upon  the  basis  of  universal  industrial  service  with  a 
hierarchy  of  officials  arranged  in  military  form.  It  was 
the  most  widely  read  social  treatise  of  the  day,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  Henry  George's  "  Progress  and 
Poverty."  But  the  effect  of  this  effort  was  soon  lost, 
although  its  indirect  influence  was  no  doubt  considerable. 

In  the  early  '90's  came  a  remarkable  break  in  the  con- 
servative line,  when  the  stately  Ho  wells,  now  dean  of 
Am.erican  literature,  published  "  A  Traveller  from  Al- 
truria  "  (1894).^^     In  this  work  Howells,  influenced  by 

11  P.  221. 

12  See  also  "  Through  the  Eye  of  the  Needle,"  1907 ;  "  World  of 
Chance,"  1891. 


POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE      437 

Tolstoi  and  Morris,  produced  the  sharpest  satire  yet 
written  on  American  economic  and  social  life.  He  pic- 
tured a  state  of  affairs  in  which  "  there  is  as  absolute  a 
division  between  the  orders  of  men  and  as  little  love  as  in 
any  country  on  the  globe."  He  reproduced  in  detail  the 
standard  defences  of  the  established  social  order,  and 
readily  demolished  them.  Finally  in  a  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  Altruria,  he  portrayed  a  socialistic  Utopia. 

Aside  from  the  significant  works  of  Bellamy  and  How- 
ells,  Utopias  of  all  types  appeared,  running  the  whole 
gamut  of  the  radical,  reactionary,  middle  class,  anarchis- 
tic and  individualistic.  Aside  from  those  already  de- 
scribed, most  of  these  had  no  great  circulation  or  influ- 
ence, but  they  possess  some  historical  significance  as 
types  of  speculation,  cropping  out  at  widely  scattered 
points.  In  comparison  with  the  Utopian  ferment  of  the 
ante-bellum  period,  the  output  was  relatively  small  and 
unimportant.^^ 

In  the  last  generation  increasing  attention  has  been 
given  to  the  description  of  American  political  conditions 
including  urban  and  rural  types  and  covering  all  sections 
of  the  country.  An  early  example  was  Crawford's  "  An 
American  Politician"  (1885),  describing  the  mysterious 
industrial-financial  Council  of  Three,  and  concluding 
with  the  doctrine  of  Independency.  A  widely  read  vol- 
ume was  Ford's  "  The  Honorable  Peter  Stirling  "  (1894) 

i»  Interesting  types  of  these  are  Philip  Dru,  Administrator, 
1912,  published  anonymously,  and  David  Lubin's,  "Let  There  Be 
Light,"  1900.  See  also  among  many  others :  S.  B.  Welcome,  "  From 
Earth's  Center,"  1895;  Frank  Rossiter,  "The  Making  of  a  Millen- 
nium," 1908;  Henry  Olerich,  "A  Cityless  and  Countryless  World," 
1893;  C.  W.  Wooldridge,  "Perfecting  the  Earth,"  1902. 


438  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

—  an  interesting  account  of  politics  in  New  York  City  in 
the  nineties,  detailing  the  methods  and  spirit  of  Tammany, 
and  the  social  and  economic  basis  of  machine  rule  in  a 
great  urban  cosmopolitan  community.  Lewis'  "  The 
Boss  "  centered  around  the  same  theme  with  Croker  as 
its  dominating  figure.^*  "  I  have  yet  to  meet,"  says  the 
cynical  boss,  "  that  man  or  that  corporation,  and  though 
the  latter  were  a  church,  who  wouldn't  follow  interest 
across  a  prostrate  law  and  in  the  chase  of  dollars  break 
through  ordinance  and  statute  as  a  cow  walks  through  a 
cobweb." 

Lincoln  StefTens  with  his  great  power  of  vivid  por- 
trayal led  the  way  and  turned  the  spot  light  on  the  dark 
places  of  government  and  industry. ^^  But  he  did  more 
than  photograph.  He  undertook  the  formulation  of  a 
philosophy  as  well.  The  fundamental  cause  of  political 
corruption  he  found  in  the  relation  between  government 
and  special  industrial  privilege,  between  the  political  boss 
and  the  business  beneficiary.  To  this  all  trails  led  him. 
But  his  final  conclusion  was  that  both  the  boss  and  the 
beneficiary  are  the  products  of  a  system  which  must  an- 
swer for  them  both.  Of  like  import  were  the  notable 
stories  of  Judge  Lindsey,  "The  Beast"  (1910),  Brand 
Whitlock's  ^*^  "Forty  Years  of  It"  (1914)  and  Samuel 

1*  Compare  George  Vickers,  "  The  Fall  of  Bossism,"  1883,  and 
Rufus  E.  Shapley's  "  Solid  for  Mulhooley,"  1881,  stories  of  Philadel- 
phia; and  the  keen  satire  of  Champernowme  (D.  M.  Means)  "The 
Boss"    (1894);    W.    L.    Riordon,    "  Plunkitt   of    Tammany    Hall" 

(1905)- 

15  "The  Shame  of  the  Cities,"  (1904);  "The  Struggle  for  Self- 
Government,"   (1906),  and  many  short  articles. 

16  See  also  his  "Gold  Brick"   (1910)  ;   "The  Turn  of  the  Bal- 


POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE      439 

Blythe's  "  The  Price  of  Place  "  (1913).^^  C  K.  Lush's 
"The  Federal  Judge"  (1897)  describes  the  relation  be- 
tween a  country  judge  and  an  industrial  magnate. 

Of  all  these  the  most  widely  influential  was  Winston 
Churchill,  whose  volumes  vividly  portrayed  the  economic 
and  political  situation.^^  In  the  first  of  these  studies  he 
described  the  early  stages  of  political  and  industrial  de- 
velopment in  which  railroads  struggled  for  consolidation 
and  centralization.  In  the  second,  he  depicted  a  more 
fully  developed  and  highly  organized  system,  in  the  third, 
the  riper  product  of  business  and  political  growth,  and  in 
the  fourth,  the  development  of  industrial  unionism.  The 
discrepancy  between  the  forms  and  the  facts  of  repre- 

ance"  (1907).  Compare  Elizabeth  B.  Bohan,  "The  Drag  Net," 
1909. 

17  See  also  Hamlin  Garland's  "  A  Spoil  of  Office,"  1892,  describ- 
ing Populism  in  Iowa;  Francis  Lynde,  "The  Grafters"  (1904), 
dealing  with  Populism  in  a  mountain  state;  Booth  Tarkington, 
"The  Gentleman  from  Indiana"  and  "In  the  Arena"  (1905)  on 
Indiana  politics;  D.  G.  Phillips,  "Light  Fingered  Gentry"  (1907), 
covering  the  New  York  insurance  investigations ;  Clifford  Raymond, 
American  Magazine,  72>,  4^9,  S^z,  651  on  Illinois;  Will  Payne, 
"  Money  Captain,"  on  the  Chicago  gas  case,  1898 ;  and  Flower's  "  The 
Spoilsman,"  also  based  on  Chicago  public  utilities;  J.  W.  Linn, 
"The  Second  Generation,"  an  Illinois  story  (1902). 

i^Coniston,  1906;  "Mr.  Crewe's  Career,"  1908;  "A  Far  Coun- 
try," 1915;  "The  Dwelling  Place  of  Light,"  1917;  P-  V.  Mighel, 
"The  Ultimate  Passion"  (1905)  and  J.  K.  Friedman,  "The  Radi- 
cal," tracing  the  relation  between  federal  politics  and  business;  M.  L. 
Luther,  "The  Mastery,"  1904;  J.  A.  Altsheler,  "Guthrie  of  the 
Times"  (1904),  a  story  of  a  Southern  legislature;  H.  R.  Miller's 
"The  Man  Higher  Up"  (1910),  a  description  of  Pennsylvania  mu- 
nicipal politics;  William  Sage,  "By  Right  Divine"  (1907).  and 
Holman  Day,  "The  Ramrodders  "  (1910)  center  around  state  poli- 
tics and  industry. 


440  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

sentative  government  was  dramatically  outlined  by 
Churchill  — "  Democracy  in  front,  the  feudal  system,  the 
dukes  and  earls,  behind,  but  in  plain  clothes;  democracy 
in  stars  and  spangles  and  trappings  and  insignia.  .  .  . 
Proclamations,  constitutions  and  creeds  crumble  before 
conditions.  The  Law  of  Dividends  is  the  high  law,  and 
the  Forum  an  open  vent  through  which  the  white  steam 
may  rise  heavenward  and  be  resolved  again  into 
water."  ^®  The  growth  of  central  organization  in  busi- 
ness and  natural  control  in  politics  is  also  a  topic  of  ex- 
tended consideration.  The  "  Banker  Personality,"  pre- 
sumably Morgan,  was  sketched  by  Churchill,  and  his 
far-reaching  power  examined.  "  Wherever  commerce 
reigned  —  and  where  did  it  not  ?  —  he  was  king  and 
head  of  its  Holy  Empire,  Pope  and  Emperor  at  once. 
What  I  did  not  then  comprehend  was  that  he  was  the 
American  Principle  personified,  the  supreme  individual 
assertion  of  the  conviction  that  government  should  remain 
modestly  in  the  background,  while  the  efficient  acquired 
the  supremacy  that  was  theirs  by  natural  right ;  nor  had  I 
grasped  at  that  time  the  crowning  achievement  of  the 
unity  that  fused  Christianity  with  those  acquisitive  dispo- 
sitions said  to  be  inherent  in  humanity.  In  him  the  Lion 
and  the  Lamb,  the  Eagle  and  the  Dove  dwelt  together  in 
amity  and  power."  ^^ 

The  conclusion  of  his  philosophy  is  that  democracy  is 
still  in  an  experimental  stage,  struggling  for  more  perfect 
development.  Democracy,  says  the  author,  "  Is  still  in  a 
far  country,  eating  the  husks  of  individualism,  material- 

""Mr.  Crewe's  Career,"  p.  141. 
20 "A  Far  Country,"  p.  367. 


POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE      44I 

ism.  What  we  see  is  not  true  freedom,  but  freedom  run 
to  riot,  men  struggling  for  themselves,  spending  on  them- 
selves the  fruits  of  their  inheritance ;  we  see  a  government 
intent  on  one  object  alone  —  exploitation  of  this  inherit- 
ance in  order  to  achieve  what  it  calls  prosperity.  And 
God  is  far  away."  ^^ 

Broader  in  scope  came  studies  penetrating  beyond  the 
industrial  and  the  political  to  the  deeper  social  relations  of 
democracy.  One  of  the  earliest  of  these  was  Elizabeth 
Stuart  Phelps,  "  Silent  Partner"  (1871) — a  story  of  a 
New  England  mill  town.  Keener  in  analysis  and  more 
finished  in  form  were  the  studies  of  Herrick,^^  White  and 
Poole.^^  These  writers  undertook  to  picture  the  web  of 
American  life  as  it  was  woven  by  the  industrial  and  urban 
forces  of  our  time.  Their  analysis  showed  the  complex 
and  confusing  relations  of  democracy  under  the  new  en- 
vironment, with  its  weakness  and  its  perils,  its  strength 
and  its  hope.  They  showed  cross  sections  of  the  social 
democracy  behind  the  formal  equality  and  democracy  of 
government ;  and  they  took  no  pains  to  gloss  over  the  glar- 
ing discrepancies  between  political,  industrial  and  social 
democracy. 

21  Ibid.,  481. 

22  Robert  Herrick,  "The  Common  Lot"  (1904);  "A  Life  for  a 
Life"  (1910);  "The  Web  of  Life"  (1900). 

23  William  Allen  White,  "A  Certain  Rich  Man"  (1909);  "The 
Old  Order  Changeth "  (1910)  ;  Ernest  Poole,  "The  Harbor" 
(1915);  H.  S.  Harrison,  "  Queed "  (1911);  J.  M.  Patterson,  "A 
Little  Brother  of  the  Rich,"  1908;  see  also  such  works  as  those  of 
Bliss  Perry,  "The  Plated  City,"  1895;  Hutchins  Hapgood,  "The 
Autobiography  of  a  Thief,"  1903;  Donald  Richberg,  "The  Shadow 
Men"  (1911);  Frank  Norris,  "The  Octopus,"  1901,  "The  Pit," 
1903. 


442  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

This  period  was  rich  in  sketches  of  many  races  and 
regions,  and  social  types  of  all  descriptions.  North  and 
South,  East  and  West,  among  old  inhabitants  and  newest 
arrivals,  the  eager  seekers  went  searching  for  fresh  types 
to  portray.  Many  of  these  like  Tourgees's  "  Fool's  Er- 
rand "  (1879),  Cable's  "John  March,  Southerner" 
(1894),  Dixon's  "Clansman"  (1905),  Helen  Hunt 
Jackson's  "  Ramona  "  (1884)  are  valuable  interpretations 
of  a  spirit  and  a  time.  Mary  Antin's  "  Promised  Land  '' 
and  Lillian  Wald's  "  The  House  on  Henry  Street  "  are 
invaluable  for  their  appreciation  of  urban  cosmopolitan 
conditions,  and  their  political  philosophy  is  by  no  means  a 
negligible  quantity  in  a  period  when  political  formalism 
often  overlooked  the  realities  of  life.^^ 

Among  the  Socialist  writers  the  best  known  were  Jack 
London  and  Upton  Sinclair.  ^^  The  former  developed 
the  orthodox  Socialist  doctrine  in  his  numerous  writings, 
notably  in  the  "Iron  Heel"  (1908) — a  picture  of  the 
final  triumph  of  the  plutocratic  "  oligarchy."  Sinclair 
first  wrote  "The  Jungle"  (1906),  a  widely  read  story 
based  upon  the  conditions  in  the  packing  industry  of  Chi- 
cago, and  later  undertook  to  outline  a  constructive  pro- 
gram in  his  "Industrial  RepubHc "  (1907).  London 
was  the  more  picturesque  and  more  popularly  effective. 
An  interesting  compilation  of  democratic  appeals  from  all 
lands  was  made  by  Sinclair  in  his  "  Cry  for  Justice,"  in 

2*  See  also  Angelo  Pietri,  "  The  Schoolmaster  of  a  Great  City  " ; 
Jacob  Riis,  "  An  American  in  the  Making " ;  Rebecca  Schneider, 
"  Bibliography  of  Jewish  Life  in  the  Fiction  of  America  and  Eng- 
land," 1916;  Benjamin  Brawley,  "The  Negro  in  Literature  and 
Art." 

25  Katherine  Pearson  Woods,  "  Metzerott,  Shoemaker  "  1890. 


POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE      443 

which  he  brought  together  the  protests  of  Hberty-lovers 
of  all  the  world.2« 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  not  wanting  literary 
works  in  defence  of  the  existing  politico-economic  order. 
Of  this  type  was  John  Hay's  "  Breadwinners,"  published 
in- 1883-4.27  The  inspiration  of  this  fiction  was  the 
great  strike  of  1877.  Apparently  deeply  influenced  by 
the  terrorism  of  that  period,  the  writer  held  up  to  ridicule 
and  scorn  the  labor  agitator  and  organizer  and  the  tactics 
of  organized  labor  in  general. ^^  His  unfriendly  pictures 
of  the  personality  of  the  leaders  of  organized  industry 
and  his  discussion  of  their  methods  of  operation  were  of 
such  a  type  as  to  produce  distrust  and  dislike  of  the  labor 
movement. 

Critical  and  somewhat  cynical  in  its  attitude  toward 
free  government  is  a  volume  called  "  Democracy  "  whose 
author  was  probably  either  Clarence  King  or  Henry 
Adams  (1880).  The  thinly  veiled  references  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States  and  leading  public  officials 
and  the  outspoken  criticism  of  the  methods  and  purposes 
of  democratic  government  were,  if  not  distinctly  hostile 
to  democracy  as  such,  at  least  doubtful  and  hesitating. 
They  were  not  calculated  to  inspire  confidence  either  in 
the  present  or  the  future  of  democracy. ^^ 

In  his  "  Voice  of  the  Machines  "  ( 1908)  Gerald  S.  Lee 
undertook  to  write  the  poetry  of  the  machine  process, 

28  See  also  "  King  Cole  "  and  other  stories. 

2'^  First  appearing  anonymously  in  the  Century  Magazine, 

28  Chap.  V.     "  A  Professional  Reformer." 

29  Compare  Francis  Hodgson  Burnett,  "  Through  One  Adminis- 
tration," 1883  —  dealing  with  industrial  political  relations  in  Wash- 
ington; Mrs.  Atherton,  "Senator  North,"  1900. 


444  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

and  in  his  "  Inspired  Millionaires  "  ( 1908)  to  interpret 
the  business  magnate  and  give  him  literary  shape  and 
form.^^  "  How  can  a  machine-made  world,"  he  asked, 
"  be  run  in  the  spirit  of  a  hand-made  world?  "  The  an- 
swer is  that  there  are  two  spirits  in  the  machine,  that  of 
weariness  and  weakness,  and  on  the  other  hand  that  of 
conquering,  moving  mountains,  accomplishment.  "  Per- 
haps Religion  in  the  twentieth  century  is  Technique  — 
Technique  in  the  twentieth  century  is  the  Holy  Ghost."  ^^ 

Crowds  produce  a  real  aristocracy.  They  "  speak  in 
heroics."  "  There  is  a  kind  of  colossal  naked  poetry  in 
what  Pierpont  Morgan  has  done  which  I  cannot  but 
acknowledge  with  gratitude  and  hope."  ^^  Millionaires 
are  **  the  bellows  of  great  cities,  the  draught  of  the  crea- 
tive forces  and  the  latent  energies  of  men."  ^^  "  Labor 
unions  are  conspiracies  of  poor  men  for  not  working  so 
hard  and  for  intimidating  men  who  want  to  work  hard." 
Our  choice  is  "  between  the  socialized  millionaire  and 
Socialism."  Our  salvation  lies  in  the  Aristocrat  who  "  is 
the  man  who  is  more  of  a  democrat  than  the  other  people 
have  the  brains  to  be,  the  man  who  can  identify  himself 
with  the  interests  and  with  the  points  of  view  of  the  most 
kinds  of  people." 

An  interesting  type  is  "  The  Scarlet  Empire,"  by  David 
M.  Parry,  President  of  the  National  Association  of  Man- 
ufacturers (1906).^*     "  The  Scarlet  Empire  "  is  a  social- 

S0" Crowds"  (1914),  P-  38. 
81  Ibid.,  p.  188. 
32  Ibid.,  p.  310. 
83  "  Inspired  Millionaires." 

'*  Compare  Richard  Michaelis'  "  Looking  Further  Forward,"  1890, 
an  answer  to  Bellamy.    Octave  Thanet,  "  The  Heart  of  Toil,"  1898. 


POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE      445 

istic  government;  described  somewhat  after  the  manner 
of  Bellamy's  "  Looking  Backward."  The  excesses  of  de- 
mocracy and  socialism  are  delineated  and  discussed  at 
length.  The  evils  arising  from  the  suppression  of  the  in- 
dividual and  the  tyranny  of  the  majority  under  a  system 
of  state  socialism  are  vividly  depicted.  The  socialistic 
empire  is  painted  as  a  land  of  "  social  petrifaction."  "  In 
its  infatuation  for  what  it  called  equality,  it  had  taken 
every  vestige  of  independence  from  the  individual  units 
and  had  made  the  State  into  a  Frankenstein,  which,  while 
crushing  in  its  grasp  the  souls  of  the  people,  was  itself 
without  a  soul."  ^^  "  Individual  energy  and  ambition 
had  been  discouraged  and  stifled.  Sympathy,  charity  and 
self-sacrifice  had  become  unknown.  The  spiritual  in  man 
had  ceased  to  be  manifest  and  the  physical  had  become 
dominant  to  such  an  extent  that  the  people  had  sunk  under 
the  vicious  use  of  the  aletha  weed."  "  The  whole  race 
had  been  placed  on  the  same  dead  level  as  that  of  the  peni- 
tentiary. Governed  by  a  few  men  for  selfish  purposes, 
the  State  had  become  a  despotism  of  laws." 

Sometimes  nearer  to  the  average  American  philosophy 
of  things  political  than  court  decisions,  or  political  plat- 
forms or  systematic  treatises  were  the  informal  philoso- 
phies of  the  humorists.  They  could  not  be  reversed,  re- 
manded, reelected  or  recalled,  and  their  playful  sayings 
often  struck  close  to  the  mark.  The  quaint  and  widely 
noted  remarks  of  Mr.  Dooley  ^^  often  revealed  in  a  flash 
a  widely  accepted  theory,  as  when  he  said  that  whether 

35  Chap.  17. 

8*Finley  Peter  Dunne,  "Mr.  Dooley  in  Peace  and  War"  1898, 
and  continuation  of  series.  An  amusing  type  is  David  Starr  Jor- 
dan's satire  on  the  tariff  system  in  "The  Fate  of  Iciodorum,"  1909. 


446  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

the  Constitution  follows  the  flag  or  not,  the  Supreme 
Court  follows  the  election  returns.  The  underlying  spirit 
of  Mark  Twain  ^"^  was  democratic,  but  was  focussed 
against  political  aristocracy  and  autocracy  rather  than 
on  questions  of  social  and  industrial  democracy.  It  is  not 
possible  to  understand  American  democracy  by  reading 
Nasby,^^*  Bret  Harte,  Artemus  Ward,  Mark  Twain,  but 
who  can  understand  America  without  appreciating  them? 
If  Mr.  Ostrogorski,  for  example,  could  have  understood 
them  how  differently  he  might  have  written  of  our  politi- 
cal parties. 

Whitman  had  no  successor  for  a  generation,  but  at  the 
end  of  that  time  a  new  school  appeared  breathing  again 
the  democratic  spirit.^^  Triggs,  in  his  "  Changing  Or- 
der," ^^  endeavored  to  apply  Whitman's  principles  under 
all  conditions,  including  democratic  criticism,  canons  of 
beauty  and  pleasure,  and  education,  in  place  of  the  mili- 
tary, priestly  and  cultural,  which  he  held  essentially  non- 
social.  In  somewhat  the  same  strain  wrote  Charles  Zeu- 
blin,  in  his  "  Religion  of  a  Democrat." 

Many  of  the  later  poets  hurled  a  protest  against  politi- 
cal and  social  conditions,  but  although  they  were  inspired 
by  democratic  ideals  presented  no  particular  program.^** 

ST  Especially  in  "  Innocents  Abroad,"  i86g,  and  "  A  Yankee  at 
the  Court  of  King  Arthur,"  1889;  "The  Man  that  Corrupted 
Pladleyburg,"  1900. 

3Ta "  In  Search  of  the  Man  of  Sin,"  in  "  Struggles  of  Petroleum 
V.  Nasby,"  p.  687,  1872. 

^**  Percy  Boynton,  "  American  Poetry."  Louis  Untermeyer,  "  The 
New  Era  in  American  Poetry"  (1919)- 

88  Oscar  Lovell  Triggs,  "The  Changing  Order"   (1905). 

*" Alice  B.  Curtis,  "Modern  Industrialism  and  the  Struggle  be- 
tween Capital  and  Labor,  in  American  verse,  from  1865  to  1913" 


POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE      447 

Of  these  none  was  more  notable  than  Edwin  Markham's 
"  The  Man  With  the  Hoe,"  written  after  seeing  Mil- 
let's famous  painting: 

"  Oh,  masters,  lords  and  rulers  in  all  lands. 
How  will  the  Future  reckon  with  this  man? 

How  answer  his  brute  question  in  that  hour 
When  whirlwinds  of  rebellion  shake  the  world? 

"  How  will  it  be  with  kingdoms  and  with  kings, 

With  those  who  shaped  him  to  the  thing  he  is  — 
When  this  dumb  Terror  shall  reply  to  God  — 
'  After  the  silence  of  centuries?  " 

Underlying  the  poems  of  William  Vaughn  Moody 
there  is  the  same  passionate  protest  against  social  injus- 
tice and  the  same  plea  for  a  broader  brotherhood.'*^  In 
the  new  school  of  Masters,*^  Sandberg  *'  and  Lindsey  ** 
is  found  the  same  resentment  against  political  and  social 
wrong,  and  the  same  reflection  of  profound  unrest.  Ur- 
ban and  industrial  subjects  were  not  omitted  in  their  ef- 
forts to  interpret  and  express  their  ideals  of  human  fel- 
lowship. These  writers  unquestionably  exercised  a  deep 
influence  on  the  political  thought  of  America,  spurring 
the   conscience   and   intelligence   of   the   community   to 

*i "  The  Brute "  and  the  "  Breaking  of  Bonds."  Compare  the 
earlier  writings  of  Sydney  Lanier,  notably  "The  Symphony"  (1875). 

*2  Edgar  Lee  Masters,  "  Spoon  River  Anthology"  (1914)  ;  "  Songs 
and  Satires"  (1916). 

*3  Carl  Sandberg,  "Chicago  Poems"  (1916),  dealing  with  the 
urban-industrial  problem. 

**  Vachel  Lindsey,  "  General  William  Booth "  ( 1916)  and  other 
works;  Webster  Bynner,  "New  World"  1915;  Arturo  Giovanitti, 
"  Arrows  in  the  Gale,"  1914. 


448  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

sharper  thought  on  the  new  problems  of  democracy  under 
new  conditions. 

On  the  whole  it  may  be  said  that  the  literary  attitude 
was  one  of  indifference  to  political  and  social  problems 
during  the  first  part  of  the  period,  passing  over  to  vigor- 
ous championship  of  social  justice  in  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century.  Howells'  "  Altruria  "  seemed  to  mark  the  part- 
ing of  the  ways.  There  was  always  the  tendency  to  ac- 
cept the  status  quo  of  polite  indifference  to  social  facts  and 
forces.  But  if  we  consider  the  frequently  reactionary 
attitude  of  courts,  of  statesmen  and  philosophers,  the  lit- 
erary group  was  certainly  not  unprogressive  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  democratic  ideals  of  America. 

The  literature  of  this  period  clearly  reflects  the  swift 
changes  in  economic,  social  and  political  conditions,  the 
growing  interest  in  social  problems,  and  the  new  response 
to  the  challenge  of  the  new  world  to  the  old  democracy. 

Yet  in  the  field  of  literature,  much  more  than  in  that 
of  political  theory  or  practical  politics,  the  influence  of 
European  writers  was  felt.  The  internationalists,  James, 
Dickens,  Ruskin,  Carlyle,  Morris,  Shaw,  Chesterton,  Ben- 
nett, Galsworthy,  Kipling,  Tennyson,  with  their  varying 
interpretations  of  social  ideals,  were  widely  read  and  their 
ideas  sunk  deep.  Likewise  Tolstoi,  Ibsen,  Zola,  Victor 
Hugo,  were  read  by  large  groups  and  political  and  social 
effect  was  not  wanting.  To  smaller  groups  the  whole 
range  of  the  French,  German,  Italian,  Slav  and  Scandi- 
navian literature  was  open,  and  they  absorbed  the  ideas 
embodied  in  the  fiction  of  other  lands,  and  assimilated 
their  interpretations  of  social  and  political  life  under 
modern  conditions. 


POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE      449 

Whitman  was  rediscovered,  Howells,  Steffens,  Church- 
ill, White,  Herrick,  and  others  went  behind  the  forms 
of  government  and  were  powerful  preachers  of  a  demo- 
cratic spirit  that  swept  through  America  in  the  twentieth 
century.  Their  influence  was  profound  and  far-reaching 
in  shaping  democratic  political  and  social  ideals.  The 
voice  of  the  later  poets  was  equally  insistent,  and  still 
more  fervid  and  forceful,  but  the  circle  of  their  direct 
influence  was  not  so  wide. 


CHAPTER  XV 

SUMMARY 

It  now  remains  to  summarize  and  characterize  as  con- 
cisely as  possible  the  broad  tendencies  of  political  thought 
during  the  last  half  century.  Unquestionably  the  most 
significant  features  of  this  period  were  the  gradual  ten- 
dency toward  concentration  of  political  and  economic 
institutions,  and  toward  the  socialization  of  the  state. 
The  tendency  toward  centralization,  developing  slowly  at 
the  outset,  swept  forward  as  the  end  of  the  century  ap- 
proached with  increasing  momentum.  In  city,  state  and 
nation,  and  in  the  industrial  world  as  well,  the  trend  was 
toward  closer  integration  of  the  institutions  of  control, 
economic  and  political.  The  development  of  nationalism 
in  the  nation  as  a  whole,  the  growth  of  "  bosses  "  and 
organizations  within  the  political  party,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  the  "  trust "  in  the  commercial  world,  the  con- 
solidation of  powers  in  the  form  of  the  commission  gov- 
ernment in  the  city,  the  development  of  central  control  in 
the  state,  were  all  evidences  of  the  same  general  drift 
toward  more  compact  organization.  Again,  the  broad- 
ening of  the  purpose  of  the  state  was  a  conspicuous  fea- 
ture of  the  time.  Beginning  with  a  theory  of  the  limited 
function  of  the  government,  the  new  conditions  and  the 
new  spirit  of  the  time  forced  a  gradual  departure  from 

450 


SUMMARY  451 

the  original  position  and  the  organized  political  society 
took  up  new  duties  on  a  much  broader  scale  than  ever 
before.  Concentration  of  power  and  broadening  of  the 
scope  of  authority  were  typical  of  the  institutional  devel- 
opment of  the  period.  On  the  theoretical  side,  the  aban- 
donment of  the  doctrine  of  weak  government  as  the  neces- 
sary defence  of  liberty  was  forced  as  the  urgent  need  of 
more  vigorous  government  began  to  be  evident,  while  the 
early  doctrine  of  laisses  faire  tended  to  retire  before  the 
theory  of  the  broader  social  function  of  the  political  soci- 
ety. Taking  the  period  as  a  whole,  it  was  characterized 
by  comparative  weakness  of  government  and  limitation  of 
function,  but  considering  the  tendencies  of  the  time,  it  is 
clear  that  the  broad  movement  was  toward  strengthening 
government  and  broadening  its  function.  Decentraliza- 
tion was  on  the  decline,  and  non-interference  as  a  po- 
litical dogma  was  on  the  wane  as  the  period  came  to  a 
close. 

Broadly  speaking  three  philosophies  of  action  and  in- 
terpretation were  in  competition  during  this  time.  They 
were  the  old  time  doctrine  of  conservatism,  centering 
around  the  unimpeded  operations  of  the  assumed  "  natural 
laws  "of  trade;  the  liberal  or  progressive  theory  demand- 
ing popular  control  of  the  most  threatening  features  of 
the  new  industrialism  in  the  interests  of  the  many  as 
against  the  few;  and  the  collectivist  philosophy  demand- 
ing industrial  democracy  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the 
term.  Of  these  the  first  reigned  without  much  opposition 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  time;  the  second  rose  to 
power  as  the  middle  of  the  period  approached,  and  the 
third  had  no  status  until  toward  the  middle  of  the  period 


452  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

but  gained  in  strength  as  the  end  of  the  period  drew 
near. 

Examining  the  features  of  change  in  greater  detail,  it 
appears  that  significant  alterations  were  made  in  the 
fundamentals  of  government.  The  suffrage  was  broad- 
ened by  the  inclusion  of  the  colored  voter  although  this 
was  subsequently  taken  from  him  in  the  Southern  states ; 
and  by  the  grant  of  the  right  to  vote  to  large  numbers  of 
women,  particularly  in  the  Western  part  of  the  country. 
The  number  of  elective  officers  was  somewhat  diminished, 
particularly  in  the  cities,  and  the  tendency  to  increase  the 
list  was  everywhere  checked.  At  the  same  time  the 
electorate  was  given  a  veto  over  legislation  in  large  sec- 
tions of  the  country  by  means  of  the  initiative  and  refer- 
endum, in  addition  to  which  the  recall  of  certain  officials 
was  provided  for  in  many  sections,  notably  in  local  elec- 
tions. The  underlying  theory  was  democratic  in  that  it 
predicated  the  grant  of  voting  power  to  all  adult  citizens, 
and  broadened  the  circle  of  democratic  determination  of 
policies.  The  short  ballot  tendency  seemed  to  foreshadow 
a  more  effective  organization  of  leadership  and  responsi- 
bility in  the  democracy,  than  it  had  been  possible  to  ob- 
tain hitherto. 

With  reference  to  the  various  powers  of  government, 
popular  practice  and  theory  underwent  important  changes. 
In  many  instances  the  powers  of  government  were 
brought  much  more  closely  together,  notably  in  cities. 
At  the  same  time  the  theory  of  the  balance  of  powers  as 
a  fundamental  of  free  government  was  abandoned  in 
many  quarters.  The  mechanical  theory  of  "  equilib- 
rium "  as  a  guarantee  of  liberty  was  attacked  by  many 


SUMMARY  453 

Students  of  politics  and  toward  the  end  of  the  period  was 
very  widely  discredited,  especially  as  a  dogma  upon  which 
democracy  must  necessarily  rest.  On  the  contrary, 
greater  emphasis  was  laid  upon  the  desirability  of  closer 
coordination  and  cooperation  between  the  various 
branches  of  the  government,  on  the  assumption  that  sepa- 
ratism in  the  government  was  undesirable  for  the  com- 
munity. Montesquieu's  doctrine  of  the  separation  of 
powers  had  never  existed  in  the  English  constitution  from 
which  he  borrowed  it.  Its  crystallization  in  the  constitu- 
tional law  of  the  several  states  had  caused  many  prac- 
tical difficulties;  and  the  defence  of  the  three-fold  classi- 
fication as  the  end  of  this  period  came  on,  was  relatively 
weak. 

Of  the  three  powers  of  government,  the  executive  was 
the  greatest  gainer  in  public  esteem,  in  practical  and  ef- 
fective organization  and  in  political  theory.  Executive 
leadership  emerged  as  a  definite  feature  and  was  sup- 
ported by  a  strong  body  of  sentiment  and  theory.  When 
Woodrow  Wilson  said  that  he  intended  to  assume  the 
initiative  in  the  government  of  New  Jersey,  if  elected 
governor  of  the  State,  and  that  if  that  was  unconstitu- 
tional, he  intended  to  be  an  unconstitutional  governor,  he 
stated  the  whole  situation  in  a  nutshell.  The  "  municipal 
dictator  "  theory  of  the  mayoralty  in  many  of  the  large 
cities  was  an  evidence  of  the  same  general  tendency  work- 
ing in  the  public  mind.  Not  only  was  the  executive  sup- 
ported as  against  the  other  branches  of  the  government, 
but  during  this  period  began  to  acquire  the  permanent 
and  skilled  staff  and  force  imperatively  necessary  for  the 
proper  administration  of  executive  office,  but  which  it 


454  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

had  lacked  up  to  this  time,  "  Administration  "  began  to 
appear,  expert  and  technically  qualified,  as  an  aid  to 
executive  leadership. 

On  the  whole  the  executive  emerged  from  the  half 
century  with  distinct  leadership,  rooted  in  public  opinion 
and  reen forced  by  sundry  constitutional  provisions.  Only 
in  the  city  did  the  legislature  regain  some  of  its  lost 
prestige  and  authority.  The  commission  and  the  com- 
mission manager  forms  of  city  government  were  illus- 
trations of  the  revival  of  the  power  of  the  legislative 
branch  of  the  government  although  under  new  and 
changed  forms.  Their  permanence  either  as  institutions 
or  as  indications  of  a  new  form  of  thought  could  not  be 
assumed  at  the  end  of  this  period,  however;  and  in  any 
event  their  significance  was  local  rather  than  national. 
The  organization  of  political  leadership,  and  the  means 
of  holding  leaders  responsible  to  the  will  of  the  democ- 
racy were  still  a  mooted  point  in  the  theory  and  the  prac- 
tice of  the  democracy. 

The  legislative  branch  of  the  government  suffered 
throughout  this  period  from  lack  of  popular  confidence  in 
its  integrity,  in  its  competence  and  in  its  impartiality. 
Councils  and  legislatures  were  frequently  under  the  ban 
of  popular  suspicion  as  to  plain  honesty,  while  Congress 
was  often  considered  insufficiently  responsive  to  popular 
opinion  —  a  conviction  that  found  expression  in  the 
movement  for  the  direct  election  of  the  Senators  and 
in  the  insurgency  against  Cannonism.  Only  toward  the 
end  of  the  period  was  begun  the  formulating  of  more 
scientific  methods  of  law  making,  bill-drafting,  of  ma- 


f    9 


SUMMARY  455 

ture  consideration  of  facts,  and  of  elaboration  of  prin- 
ciples of  legislation. 

The  courts  suffered  through  the  period  from  a  lack  of 
confidence  in  their  impartiality.  The  judiciary  failed  to 
satisfy  the  democracy  as  to  the  representative  character  of 
many  of  the  decisions  rendered  in  cases  involving  the 
rights  of  the  many  and  the  few,  and  while  the  power  of 
veto  over  legislation  was  continued,  it  was  subjected  to 
severe  attacks  and  important  limitations  were  threat- 
ened and  in  some  instances  carried  through.  As  the  doc- 
trine of  the  independence  of  the  judiciary  was  more 
clearly  stated  and  more  generally  understood  by  the  com- 
munity, the  possibility  of  its  continuance  was  more  and 
more  clearly  conditioned  on  the  limitation  of  this  au- 
thority to  cases  in  which  broad  public  policies  were  not 
called  in  question;  and  of  a  very  discreet  and  circum- 
scribed employment  of  the  power  in  a  very  small  number 
of  cases.  The  judicial  development  of  private  law  was 
also  an  object  of  hostility  in  so  far  as  through  that  in- 
direct process  old  principles  of  private  law  were  intro- 
duced in  situations  where  broad  questions  of  public  policy 
were  concerned.  No  searching  examination  was  made, 
however,  of  the  underlying  rules  and  principles  of  juris- 
prudence from  the  point  of  view  of  a  democratically 
organized  society.  The  body  of  the  common  law  was 
recognized  by  leading  jurists  as  frankly  individualistic 
and  as  the  outgrowth  of  an  ancient  and  outgrown  regime, 
but  this  did  not  fully  penetrate  the  popular  consciousness 
and  no  pronounced  change  was  made  at  this  point.  But 
the  development  of  sociological  jurisprudence  threatened 


456  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

to  accomplish  notable  transformations,  and  the  end  of  the 
period  saw  the  lines  drawn  for  a  sharp  battle  upon  this 
field. 

Both  the  institutional  and  the  theoretical  developments 
regarding  the  area  or  unit  of  government  were  notable. 
The  general  tendency  was  toward  nationalism  as  against 
the  state  in  accordance  with  the  decision  reached  in  the 
Civil  War  and  with  the  economic  and  social  tendencies 
of  the  time.  Broader  powers  were  conferred  upon  the 
nation  by  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution, 
and  these  powers  were  often  broadly  construed  by  the 
courts,  while  the  state  lagged  behind  in  ideals  and  organi- 
zation. The  state  was  no  longer  the  rival  of  the  nation, 
but  tended  toward  the  position  of  a  subordinate  though 
powerful  agency.  Powerful  social  and  industrial  forces 
constantly  worked  in  the  direction  of  the  national  unit  as 
against  the  state.  Commerce  demanded  a  greater  degree 
of  uniformity  in  the  commercial  code,  and  a  general 
sentiment  urged  the  need  of  uniformity  at  many  points. 
The  theory  of  national  supremacy  was  more  sharply  for- 
mulated than  ever  by  Burgess  and  others  who  assailed  the 
commonwealth  as  a  unit  of  government.  There  were 
some  post-bellum  statements  of  the  state  sovereignty  doc- 
trines, but  these  were  more  in  the  nature  of  historic  justi- 
fications of  the  "  lost  cause  "  than  serious  advocacy  of  liv- 
ing principles  of  political  action.  The  devotion  to  local 
self-government,  notable  in  earlier  years,  declined  during 
this  period.  It  revived  around  the  municipality,  but  even 
here  the  sentiment  was  by  no  means  unanimous.  Local 
self-government  as  a  fundamental  and  necessary  guaran- 
tee of  liberty  was  not  much  in  evidence,  except  for  that  de- 


SUMMARY  457 

velopment  of  the  idea  of  local  autonomy  centering  around 
the  demand  for  broader  powers  of  self-government  for 
the  city.  Nor  were  these  municipal  powers  asked  as 
guarantees  against  some  dangerous  and  centralized 
power,  but  as  desirable  means  for  the  self -development 
and  self-expression  of  communities  with  distinct  local 
interests.  Liberty  was  no  longer  regarded  as  primarily 
local  in  character,  in  danger  of  losing  its  soul  if  ex- 
tended over  too  broad  an  area.  Conceptions  of  liberty, 
justice,  democracy  were  to  a  large  extent  interpreted  in 
terms  of  the  nation,  rather  than  of  the  state  or  the  city 
or  the  rural  local  government.  Toward  the  end  of  the 
period  the  international  obligations  of  the  nation  began 
to  enter  into  popular  thought  —  first  in  relation  to  the 
development  of  imperialism  and  colonialism,  and  then  in 
relation  to  the  international  guarantees  of  permanent 
peace.  The  earlier  isolation  of  the  nation  tended  to 
disappear  and  to  give  place  to  the  broader  problem  of 
the  position  of  America  among  the  other  powers  of  the 
world.  "  Manifest  destiny  "  which  had  been  a  strong 
belief  since  Puritan  days,  but  had  received  no  concrete 
formulation  except  in  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  began  to 
take  on  a  more  tangible  form,  although  the  exact  shape 
could  not  be  foreseen  even  by  the  clearest-eyed. 

The  institutional  development  of  the  poHtical  party  was 
one  of  the  striking  features  of  the  period  under  discus- 
sion. Its  ramifications  and  elaborations  were  the  object 
of  intense  interest  at  home  and  lively  curiosity  in  other 
countries  of  the  world.  The  development  of  the  boss, 
the  machine,  the  spoils  system,  were  structural  contribu- 
tions to  institutional  democracy,  while  the  alliance  of  boss 


458  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

and  trust  was  characterized  as  the  "  invisible  govern- 
ment." One  of  the  striking  features  of  the  development 
during  this  time  was  the  extension  of  legal  control  over 
many  of  the  party  activities  and  the  gradual  absorption 
of  the  party  by  the  government  as  an  organic  part  of  its 
general  structure.  What  had  been  voluntary  associa- 
tions became  subjects  of  the  most  detailed  legal  regula- 
tion with  reference  to  organization  and  to  many  of  the 
most  important  of  the  modes  of  their  activity.  The  po- 
litical thought  of  the  time  recognized  the  significance  of 
the  party  system  in  the  general  workings  of  the  democ- 
racy, and  not  only  began  the  process  of  regulation,  but 
the  more  difficult  task  of  providing  a  philosophical  in- 
terpretation of  the  party  in  the  general  scheme  of  things 
political.  For  parties  were  not  contemplated  in  that  sim- 
ple state  of  affairs  described  in  the  "  state  of  nature  " 
conceived  by  Locke  and  the  i8th  century  theorists;  nor 
were  their  activities  covered  by  those  who  discoursed  of 
the  natural  rights  of  man  and  the  social  contract.  The 
attempts  to  explain  the  party  system,  whether  in  terms  of 
the  structure  of  the  government,  or  of  the  industrial  and 
political  forces  of  the  time,  or  of  the  aggressive  ten- 
dencies of  the  "  organization  "  in  political  or  other  in- 
stitutions, were  all  helpful  in  the  fundamentally  neces- 
sary process  of  securing  a  deeper  insight  into  the  forces 
and  the  forms  of  democracy;  of  anchoring  those  public 
understandings  upon  which  all  government  rests,  below 
the  surface  of  superficial  phenomena  upon  the  solid  rock 
of  democratic  appreciation  of  basic  forces  and  tenden- 
cies. The  party  is  an  effort  to  formulate  leadership  in 
the  great  cooperative  enterprise  of  democracy,  and  ob- 


SUMMARY  459 

viously  that  is  not  the  undertaking  of  a  day.  The  trans- 
fer of  power  and  responsibility  from  a  small  hereditary 
group  to  the  many  brings  with  it  no  greater  problem  than 
the  formulation  of  the  ways  and  means  by  which  the 
latent  power  of  the  community  shall  be  organized  and  en- 
ergized for  effective  action.  The  party  was  one  of  the 
ways  attempted ;  and  that  it  failed  to  carry  out  this  ideal 
purpose  fully,  and  that  very  grave  abuses  arose  in  its 
management  may  occasion  chagrin,  but  not  surprise. 
Diligent  practical  and  theoretical  inquiry  was  necessary 
to  allocate  the  blame  in  proper  proportions  between  the 
system  itself,  the  individuals  who  administered  it,  and 
the  general  intelligence  and  interest  upon  which  it  rests 
and  above  which  it  cannot  long  rise,  and  to  construct  a 
superior  type  of  system.  That  this  task  was  completed 
during  this  period  no  one  believes;  but  that  substantial 
progress  was  made  in  the  statement  of  the  problem  and 
in  the  first  steps  toward  a  constructive  solution  is  equally 
clear. 

The  proper  scope  of  state  activity,  as  a  theoretical  and 
practical  field  of  political  discussion,  witnessed  notable 
changes  during  this  time.  The  period  opened  with  an 
intense  individualism  dominant  in  all  fields ;  —  in  the 
business  world  where  the  economic  doctrines  of  laisses 
faire  coincided  with  the  theory  of  the  survival  of  the 
fittest,  and  both  with  the  tendencies  of  strong  and  de- 
termined men  to  conduct  their  affairs  without  let  or  hin- 
drance; in  the  legal  field  with  the  crystallization  of  the 
common  law  and  the  application  of  early  common  law 
theories  to  the  problems  of  public  law  administered  by 
an  almost  irresponsible  judiciary.     Mobility  of  popula- 


46o  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

tion,  mobility  of  occupation,  mobility  of  land,  labor,  and 
capital,  all  combined  to  make  this  doctrine  supreme  in 
spite  of  the  sweeping  changes  in  the  industrial  and  urban 
worlds.  Toward  the  middle  of  the  period  there  came  a 
change  both  in  theory  and  in  practice.  Free  land  dis- 
appeared. The  economic  theory  of  the  benevolence  of 
competition  was  shattered  by  the  sudden  appearance  of 
monopoly  and  unfair  competition;  the  sociological  theory 
of  Spencer  was  matched  by  that  of  Ward,  who  urged  the 
"  efficacy  of  effort  "  as  a  legitimate  interpretation  of  the 
Darwinian  theory,  and  on  the  legal  side  a  little  later 
legal  individualism  by  the  assaults  of  the  sociological 
school  of  jurisprudence.  Meantime  the  steady  pressure 
of  conditions  in  cities  and  in  industry  had  forced  the 
practical  recognition  of  many  changes,  if  not  because  of 
a  new  theory,  then  at  the  imperative  demand  of  intoler- 
able human  relations.  A  flood  of  social  legislation  fol- 
lowed in  city,  state  and  nation,  sweeping  into  almost 
every  way  of  life  and  every  form  of  activity  where  the 
public  developed  an  interest.  Where  the  laisses  faire 
doctrine  was  not  abandoned,  it  was  materially  modified 
in  actual  practice.  Its  complete  defence  could  no  longer 
be  made  even  by  the  greatest  enthusiasts  for  the  prin- 
ciple. The  most  stubborn  case  for  the  old  principle  was 
made  against  organized  labor  under  the  plea  of  "  freedom 
of  contract,"  and  the  "  industrial  liberty  "  of  the  citizen; 
but  even  here  the  battle  was  a  losing  one;  for  the  tide 
turned  strongly  toward  the  relief  of  conditions  that  could 
not  be  tolerated  on  a  democratic  or  even  a  human  basis. 
The  industrial  and  urban  revolution  took  heavy  toll  of 
the  doctrine  of  non-interference,  whether  in  regulation 


SUMMARY  461 

of  competition  in  trade,  in  limitation  of  the  rights  of 
persons  and  property  through  the  varied  forms  of  the 
convenient  "  police  power,"  or  through  the  slow^  broaden- 
ing of  the  purposes  of  the  state  beyond  the  earlier  func- 
tion w^hich  Huxley  once  characterized  as  "  anarchy  plus 
a  policeman,"  To  say  that  individualism  v^as  abandoned 
as  a  general  theory  during  this  period  would  be  incorrect 
and  misleading;  but  that  the  function  of  the  state  was 
largely  expanded  in  practice  and  almost  equally  so  in 
theory  is  undeniable.  The  coUectivist  doctrine  in  the 
form  in  which  taught  by  the  socialists  was  generally  re- 
jected, but  the  practical  necessity  for  broader  action  by 
the  government  overcame  all  scruples  and  compelled  re- 
lief in  the  urgent  situations  precipitated  by  the  urban 
and  industrial  revolutions.  Ours  was  not  a  doctrinaire 
collectivism;  but  its  advance,  regardless  of  the  spirit  in 
which  made  or  the  goal  toward  which  it  moved,  was  none 
the  less  evident  and  important.  Nowhere  was  a  tougher 
texture  of  legal  and  economic  individualism  encountered 
than  in  America,  but  for  that  very  reason  nowhere  was 
the  advance  of  a  conscious  social  policy  more  marked 
and  conspicuous  and  significant  than  here.  Next  to  the 
tendency  toward  integration  of  the  government  the  social- 
ization of  the  work  of  government  was  the  most  striking 
tendency  of  the  time  in  theory  and  practice  alike. 

The  method  of  political  thought  was  notably  altered 
during  this  period.  On  the  one  hand  there  was  a  crude 
and  brutal  rapacity  speaking  the  language  of  corruption 
and  intimidation  —  making  a  mockery  of  law,  justice 
and  democracy  —  the  crude  tactics  of  the  new  industrial 
oligarchy.     America  had  not  known  so  cynical  a  defiance 


462  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

of  genuine  democracy.  But  on  the  other  hand  there  came 
at  the  end  of  the  period  liberal  statesmen  of  the  highest 
type,  men  of  the  character  and  ability  of  Roosevelt  and 
Wilson,  who  revived  the  best  traditions  of  English  and 
American  public  life,  and  raised  the  hopes  of  sound 
democratic  leadership  and  fruitful  statesmanship.  The 
study  of  politics  took  on  a  new  interest  and  vigor  in  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century,  and  significant  advances  were 
made  in  the  investigation  of  the  forms  and  forces  of  po- 
litical life,  and  in  the  allied  regions  of  economics  and 
sociology.  Parties,  cities,  administration,  legislation,  be- 
gan to  receive  serious  and  systematic  consideration.  It 
would  be  easy  to  overestimate  the  value  of  such  research, 
but  the  more  common  error  is  to  undervalue  it,  forget- 
ting that  the  rationalizing  process  is  not  spectacular  or 
swift.  It  deals  with  deep-rooted  tendencies  and  its  pace 
is  slow,  but  the  gains  in  the  technique  of  political  study 
are  appreciable  and  the  ultimate  results  are  not  negligible 
in  a  study  of  great  states.  That  part  of  the  process  of 
social  control  centering  around  the  state  left  much  to  be 
desired,  but  it  also  showed  signs  of  promise  and  progress. 
Parts  of  such  studies  are  phases  of  the  elaborate  process 
by  which  the  authentic  traditions  and  ruling  purposes  are 
woven  into  the  social  mind  and  to  that  extent  they  are 
elements  in  the  governing  process  of  society  and  the 
state.  But  other  portions  of  these  inquiries  touch  the 
underlying  problems  of  social  science  in  its  technical  and 
systematic  aspects,  toward  the  solution  of  which  our 
limited  intelligence  gropes  its  way,  and  which  still  lies 
far  ahead.  The  small  number  of  workers  in  the  field 
of  scientific  politics  and  the  inadequacy  of  their  ap- 


SUMMARY  463 

paratus,   makes    scientific    progress    of    necessity   slow. 

Of  the  great  forces  of  industrialism,  urbanism  and 
feminism,  which  have  so  powerfully  affected  our  life 
during  the  last  half  century,  that  of  industrialism  has 
been  the  most  notable.  Here  the  major  problems  of 
human  life  which  the  state  must  interpret  were  found 
and  here  America  struggled  hardest  and  against  the  great- 
est odds  to  find  an  equitable  and  reasonable  way  through 
institution  and  idea  toward  the  future  without  breaking 
wholly  with  its  legal  and  political  past.  Urbanism  also 
precipitated  great  problems  which  were  frankly  left  un- 
solved, even  in  the  simplest  elements  of  protection  of 
persons  and  property,  while  the  larger  constructive  prob- 
lems were  just  reached.  The  lights  and  shadows  of 
American  political  life  were  nowhere  so  clearly  marked 
as  in  the  urban  communities  where  specialized  vice  and 
virtue  elbowed  each  other  for  living  room.  Urbanism 
and  industrialism,  which  went  together,  revolutionized 
the  lives  of  men,  and  compelled  fundamental  readjust- 
ments of  ways  of  action  and  of  thought  which  were  so 
far  reaching  as  almost  to  escape  full  realization.  At  the 
risk  of  tiresome  reiteration,  it  may  be  said  once  more 
that  these  basic  changes  in  the  course  of  human  thought 
were  of  prime  importance  in  the  political  as  in  all  other 
branches  of  human  thought  here  and  elsewhere. 

Feminism  left  its  mark  upon  social  and  in  less  con- 
spicuous ways  upon  political  theory.  Jane  Addams'  sym- 
pathetic studies  rank  among  the  fruitful  thoughts  of  a 
progressive  time;  and  exemplified  the  finest  application 
of  woman's  sympathetic  instinct  and  constructive  rea- 
son in  the  world  of  public  affairs.     That  a  method  or 


464  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

a  spirit  rather  than  a  schematic  philosophy  was  presented 
in  no  way  altered  the  value  of  the  contribution.  The 
influence  of  women  in  the  socializing  of  the  government 
has  been  significant,  particularly  during  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century.  This  has  been  especially  evident  in  the 
care  of  children,  in  the  scientific  care  of  the  defectives 
and  the  dependents,  in  the  development  of  the  schools, 
especially  upon  the  social  side,  in  the  pursuit  of  con- 
structive policies  of  public  recreation,  in  public  sanitation 
and  housing,  in  the  restriction  of  vice,  and  in  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  conditions  of  working  women.  The  feminine 
impulse  and  contribution  in  all  these  fields  was  so  great 
as  to  stamp  it  as  of  fundamental  value  in  any  survey  of 
American  political  ideas. 

Considering  the  quick  interchange  of  ideas  and  the 
many  fundamental  resemblances  in  the  culture  of  west- 
ern nations,  it  is  not  easy  to  assign  a  specific  result  to 
a  particular  nation.  Yet  the  various  outside  influences 
affecting  American  political  thought  can  be  broadly 
sketched.  French  influence  was  conspicuous  in  our  his- 
tory in  the  period  following  the  American  Revolution, 
as  seen  in  the  adoption  of  Montesquieu's  theory  of  the 
three-fold  separation  and  balance  of  powers,  and  in  the 
lively  sympathy  with  the  revolutionary  democracy  of  the 
time.  It  was  not  conspicuous  thereafter  to  the  same 
degree.  At  the  end  of  the  period  the  French  syndicalist 
influence  was  reflected  in  the  industrial  unionism  of  the 
United  States,  although  the  French  refinements  of  the 
theory  were  not  closely  followed.  The  influence  of 
French  criminologists,  jurists  and  economists  was  also 
evident,  although  not  on  a  large  scale,  while  the  broad 


SUMMARY  465 

philosophical  doctrines  of  Bergson's  Creative  Evolution 
were  influential  in  shaping  the  fundamentals  of  human 
thought.     The  fiery  Eugene  Debs  was  of  French  origin. 

Large  numbers  of  Germans  settled  in  the  United  States 
and  indirectly  affected  the  course  of  life  and  thought.^ 
In  the  third  quarter  of  the  century  the  influence  of  Francis 
Lieber,  a  German  refugee,  in  systematizing  the  study 
of  political  science  was  notable.  Later  many  Americans 
studied  in  German  schools  or  familiarized  themselves  with 
the  results  of  German  thought.  This  was  particularly 
true  of  social  science,  philosophy,  education  and  natural 
science.  Bluntschli,  Gierke,  Jellinek,  Ihring,  Kohler  have 
all  left  their  impress  upon  the  study  of  politics.  Wagner 
and  Schmoller  and  the  Austrians  headed  by  Bohm- 
bawerk  and  Wieser  in  the  domain  of  economics; 
Schaefile,  Ratzenhofer,  Gumplowic,  Simmel  in  the  prov- 
ince of  sociology  were  widely  studied  in  the  United  States 
by  special  students  of  sociological  problems.  In  the 
broader  field  of  philosophy  Kant,  Hegel,  Schopenhauer, 
Nietzsche  have  deeply  influenced  the  workings  of  thought 
throughout  the  domain  of  Christendom  and  America  has 
been  no  exception  to  the  general  movement  of  the  world. 
Wundt,  Haeckel,  Virchow  and  others  were  of  great  in- 
fluence in  their  various  fields.  The  German  influence 
was  especially  noticeable  in  the  adoption  of  thorough 
methods  of  inquiry,  and  subsequently  in  the  growth  of  the 
social  spirit  and  point  of  view. 

On  the  practical  side  the  effect  of  German  social  legis- 
lation was  pronounced  and  in  the  field  of  municipal  gov- 
ernment, the  German  cities  received  much  attention  from 
1  See  A.  B.  Faust,  "  The  German  Element  in  the  U.  S." 


466  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

American  students  of  the  urban  problem.  The  city  man- 
ager has  many  resemblances  to  the  burgomaster  who  pre- 
sided over  the  German  municipal  administration.  The 
compact  social  organization  of  the  German  people,  al- 
though undemocratic  at  the  top,  was  not  without  its  ef- 
fect, as  a  type  of  highly  centered  and  energetic  political- 
social  structure. 

Socialism  in  the  United  States  was  largely  of  German 
origin.  Its  first  great  philosopher,  Karl  Marx,  was  a 
German  Jew  who  lived  much  of  his  life  in  London.  The 
earlier  Socialists  were  almost  all  Germans  and  the  active 
work  of  propaganda  was  in  their  hands.  In  the  later 
part  of  the  period  Marx's  philosophy  deeply  influenced 
political  activity  and  speculation  throughout  America. 
His  influence  could  not  be  accurately  measured  by  the 
weight  of  the  political  movement  known  as  the  Socialist 
party,  for  its  deeper  efifect  was  exercised  in  the  slow 
formation  of  the  texture  of  economic  and  political  philos- 
ophy, which  lies  beneath  the  surface  activities  of  the 
struggling  groups.  Whether  Marx  should  be  attributed 
to  German  origin,  the  Jewish  race  or  English  environment 
is  not  material  for  the  purpose  of  this  inquiry. 

The  social  forces  working  in  England  were  in  many 
ways  different  from  those  in  the  United  States,  as  is  evi- 
dent in  the  different  political  positions  held  by  large  own- 
ers of  land,  the  established  religion,  groups  of  hereditary 
rulers,  international  relations,  both  commercial  and  po- 
litical. But  at  many  other  points  there  were  close  con- 
tacts and  common  bonds.  The  close  parallel  between  the 
English  common  law  and  the  subsequent  development  of 
it  in  both  countries  was  a  fundamental  tie  of  political 


SUMMARY  467 

unity.  The  general  tendency  in  both  countries  toward 
universal  suffrage  and  responsible  democratic  government 
was  another  point  of  similarity.  In  both  the  two-party 
system  flourished.  The  decisions  of  the  English  courts 
were  cited  daily  in  American  tribunals.  Bryde's  "  Amer- 
ican Commonwealth  "  was  as  common  in  our  schools  as 
Blackstone  was  with  the  lawyers.  The  leading  person- 
alities in  English  public  life  were  well  known  in  the 
United  States.  The  political  economy  of  Adam  Smith 
and  Mill,  the  ethical  theories  of  Bentham,  the  sociology 
of  Spencer  and  the  science  of  Darwin,  the  Austinian 
theory  of  positive  jurisprudence  were  all  known  and 
current  here.  The  Fabian  socialism  of  the  Webbs  was 
widely  spread  and  frequently  followed.  English  trades 
unionism  rather  than  Continental  socialism  supplied  the 
model  of  organization  and  action  for  American  labor. 
Gompers,  the  chief  figure  in  the  American  labor  world, 
was  born  in  England,  and  followed  broadly  the  English 
tactics  in  the  development  of  the  industrial  movement, 
both  as  against  Socialism  on  the  one  hand,  and  inde- 
pendent political  action  on  the  other  hand.  Dicey,  Hol- 
land, Anson,  Pollock,  Maitland,  the  great  English  com- 
mentators on  common  law  and  constitutional  law  in  Eng- 
land, were  widely  read  and  of  great  influence  among  the 
ranks  of  lawyers  and  students.  The  literature  of  Eng- 
lish social  and  political  reform  and  reaction,  from  Dickens 
down  to  the  days  of  Chesterton,  Shaw,  Wells  and  Gals- 
worthy, was  circulated  as  widely  here  as  in  England. 
In  brief,  the  private  and  public  law  and  social  and  po- 
litical theories  of  England  were  as  influential  during  this 
half  of  the  century  —  and  particularly  during  the  last 


468  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

quarter  of  the  19th  century  —  as  at  any  time  since  the 
days  of  Locke  and  Blackstone.  The  Canadian  and  Aus- 
tralian political  tendencies  also  played  a  not  unimportant 
part  in  the  shaping  of  American  thought,  as  witness  the 
Australian  ballot,  proportional  representation,  the  ini- 
tiative and  referendum,  and  industrial  arbitration. 

Russian  influence  was  evident  in  the  form  of  revolu- 
tionary anarchism  as  taught  by  Bakunin  and  later  by 
Krapotkin,  who  visited  the  United  States,  and  whose 
writings  were  well  known  in  scientific  circles.  Far  wider 
in  range  and  depth  of  influence  were  the  ideas  of  Count 
Tolstoi,  whose  opposition  to  militarism  was  profoundly 
felt  in  this  country.  Bryan,  for  example,  frequently 
quoted  Tolstoi,  and  was  evidently  influenced  by  his  opin- 
ions, while  Jane  Addams  was  also  much  affected  by  the 
Tolstoian  philosophy  of  life;  and  Howells,  the  dean  of 
American  literature,  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  social 
doctrines  of  the  great  Russian  theorist  and  writer.  The 
Slavic  influence  was  one  among  the  many  factors  which 
combined  to  shape  the  character  of  American  thought. 

Of  other  influences,  the  Italian  was  expressed  chiefly 
in  the  field  of  art  and  literature  and  religion,  but  on  the 
political  side  was  represented  by  the  flaming  spirit  of 
Mazzini,  whose  democratic  liberalism  and  breadth  of 
social  vision  were  well  known  here.  Lombroso's  work 
on  criminology  was  given  wide  vogue.  Ferri  was  later 
^vell  known  in  the  same  field.  Economists  of  the  type 
of  Loria,  Cossa  and  Pantaleoni  were  also  of  significance 
in  economic  thought,  as  was  Ferrero  in  history,  and  many 
other  thinkers  in  special  fields. 

The  culture  of  many  other  peoples  was  represented 


SUMMARY  469 

here  and  all  were  mingled  in  the  great  melting  pot  of 
nations,  but  their  specific  contributions  are  not  so  clearly 
traceable  in  literature  or  in  the  detailed  development  of 
our  political  institutions,  although  all  possessed  an  in- 
fluence in  determining  the  form  of  thought  and  the  type 
of  government. 

Any  attempt  to  trace  the  fundamental  democratic  ten- 
dencies discloses  many  striking  contrasts  between  the 
economic,  the  educational  and  the  political  forces,  forms 
and  ideals.  The  economic  evolution  of  the  last  half 
century  tended  superficially  toward  industrial  control  by 
the  few,  but  fundamentally  in  the  opposite  direction. 
Educational  development  in  the  main  was  profoundly 
democratic,  unterrified  by  the  barriers  of  sex,  class  or 
race.  The  tendency  of  political  institutions  was  left  in 
doubt,  while  the  evolution  of  political  and  social  ideas  and 
ideals  was  again  distinctly  democratic.  The  reduction  of 
the  hours  of  labor  and  universal  compulsory  education 
were  democratizing  influences  of  vast  and  little  realized 
significance.  One  gave  leisure  to  the  adult,  which  meant 
eventually  emancipation.  The  other  developed  the  pro- 
ductive intelligence  of  the  race,  and  created  a  basis 
and  standard  for  democracy.  The  shorter  working  day 
and  the  universal  educational  system  were  powerful  demo- 
cratic forces,  driving  forward  regardless  of  parties  or 
bosses  or  governments  or  court  decisions  or  of  the  ebbs 
and  flows  of  surface  opinion.  If  democracy  as  a  whole 
could  learn  to  think  and  had  time  to  think,  it  was  in- 
evitable that  it  would  in  the  long  run  draw  its  own 
democratic  conclusions,  whatever  might  happen  in  the 
short  time;  while  ignorance  and  labor  to  the  point  of 


470  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

exhaustion  on  the  part  of  the  mass  of  the  people  in- 
evitably mean  rule  by  a  few  over  the  many  regardless  of 
what  the  form  of  government  may  be. 

The  ideals  of  democracy  during  this  time  were  only 
imperfectly  represented  by  its  institutions  and  by  their 
actual  operation.  Democratic  faith  was  stronger  than 
democratic  works.  Capitalism  developed  at  an  amazing 
pace  and,  because  of  the  weakness  of  the  government 
and  the  general  surviving  prejudice  against  strong  gov- 
ernment, was  able  to  escape  effective  control.  The  ab- 
sence of  clear-cut  ways  and  means  of  effective  mastery 
over  economic  consolidation  made  this  easier.  There 
was  no  tendency  to  abandon  democratic  theories  of  gov- 
ernment ;  on  the  contrary,  the  general  faith  in  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  democratic  principles  and  institutions  was 
never  stronger.  But  there  was  grave  difficulty  in  making 
the  transition  from  earlier  theories  of  weak  and  inactive 
government  to  the  later  doctrines  of  strong  and  ag- 
gressive government.  In  the  meantime  the  old  formulas 
of  democracy  were  at  work  to  prevent  the  formulation 
or  adoption  of  a  program  adequate  to  deal  with  the  al- 
tered situation. 

Here  as  elsewhere  through  the  Western  world,  Con- 
servatism, Liberalism  and  Socialism  were  all  obliged  to 
make  important  alterations  in  their  general  strategy. 
Conservatism  apparently  intended  to  abandon  bribery, 
corruption  and  irresponsibility  and  assume  the  decent 
garb  of  moderate  social  progressive  leadership  after  the 
English  Tory  model.  Liberalism  tended  to  abandon  its 
earlier  extreme  individualism  and  its  earlier  indifference 
to  a  constructive  industrial  program  and  adopt  a  thor- 


SUMMARY  471 

ough-going  social  democratic  program.  Socialism 
tended  to  cut  loose  from  revolutionary  anarchism  and 
to  adopt  an  evolutionary  and  parliamentary  program. 
The  smouldering  discontent  with  political  methods  and 
results,  and  with  orthodox  trades  unionism  flamed  out 
in  the  newer  type  of  Syndicalism,  challenging  all  previous 
forms  of  social  control. 

America  had  not  fully  thought  out  its  democracy.  It 
was  working  out  its  urgent  tasks  of  territorial  settle- 
ment, of  industrial  development,  of  race  assimilation,  se- 
cure in  the  faith  of  democracy  but  troubled  often  by  its 
wayward  and  unwelcome  developments.  Yet  the  com- 
mon denominator  of  all  sections,  parties  and  classes  was 
democracy.  No  voice  was  raised  to  challenge  the  demo- 
cratic goal,  although  there  were  many  who  doubted  the 
way,  and  a  few  who  were  not  sorry  to  see  the  public 
confusion. 

A  land  of  immense  vitality  and  profound  faith  in  its 
destiny,  America  struggled  to  realize  its  ideals  of  liberty 
and  democracy  and  equality,  to  make  practically  ef- 
fective its  faith  and  hope  in  human  capacity  for  self- 
government.  Graft  and  greed,  bosses  and  trusts,  spoils 
machine  and  predatory  privilege  did  not  reflect  the  ideals 
that  gleamed  before  the  eye  of  the  American  as  he  looked 
forward  into  the  future  of  his  nation.  The  Yankee 
mind  hesitated  to  speak  its  hopes  and  dreams,  reserving 
them  in  silence;  or  suffering  unrebuked  some  raucous 
counterfeit,  some  blaring,  blatant  utterance;  listening 
to  every  vagary,  but  shrewdly  difficult  to  convince; 
conscious  of  abuses,  yet  slow  to  act,  but  powerful 
when  fully  roused  to  action.     The  American  preferred 


472  AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS 

his  shirt  sleeves  to  a  uniform,  but  was  not  incapable  of 
donning  military  garb,  and  offering  the  "  last  full  measure 
of  devotion."  He  preferred  personal  and  national  indi- 
vidualism and  isolation,  yet  was  not  incapable  of  col- 
lective action  in  internal  or  international  affairs,  with 
unexpected  impulse  and  determination  where  a  principle 
was  involved  and  the  way  was  clear.  America's  great- 
est gift  to  humanity  has  been  the  establishment  of  a 
democratic  government  over  a  wide  extent  of  territory 
during  a  long  period  of  time  —  a  phenomenon  with 
which  the  world  was  unfamiliar;  and  the  persistent  ad- 
vocacy of  high  ideals  of  democracy,  liberty  and  equality, 
immensely  effective  even  when  only  in  part  realized. 

The  latent  but  not  always  dominant  ideal  of  the 
period,  expressed  in  political  philosophy,  in  legislation 
and  administration,  in  the  institutions,  tendencies  and 
characteristics  of  our  people,  was  essentially  to  trans- 
late the  hope  and  faith  of  democracy  into  more  effective 
form  under  the  new  social  and  economic  conditions: — 
to  organize,  energize,  mobilize  the  forces  of  the  great 
democracy,  awakening  men  to  the  need  of  responsible 
leadership,  sounder  law,  more  skilful  administration,  and 
broader  social  justice;  to  raise  governmental  methods  to 
a  plane  nearer  our  ideals  of  democracy;  to  vitalize  and 
humanize  the  work  of  government  by  contact  with  so- 
cial needs  and  through  constructive  social  policies;  to 
preserve  and  progressively  develop  and  apply  its  demo- 
cratic ideals  to  the  changing  situations,  ensuring  the  rule 
of  the  many  under  the  forms  of  law,  and  liberty  through 
that  self-restraint  and  control  without  which  democracy 
cannot  survive. 


SUMMARY  473 

Sometimes  national  personalities  interpret  better  than 
its  philosophies  or  institutions  the  inner  spirit  of  its  life. 
If  we  were  to  look  for  a  personal  embodiment  of  the 
typical  American  spirit,  by  whom  was  our  national  ideal 
more  faithfully  reflected  than  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  with 
his  lowly  origin  and  his  lofty  words;  his  mingling  of 
strength  and  gentleness;  of  caution  and  courage;  of  un- 
preparedness  and  attainment;  of  reconciliation  of  rever- 
ence for  the  forms  of  law  with  the  vital  facts  of  human 
life;  of  hatred  of  special  privilege  and  love  of  practical 
liberty;  yet  with  shrewd  ability  to  discern  and  indomit- 
able courage  to  act  upon  the  overshadowing  issue  —  the 
maintenance  of  the  nation's  life, —  paramount  to  forms 
of  law  and  privileges  guaranteed  under  the  law,  and  vital 
to  democracy  and  liberty? 


PBINTED    IN    THE    UNITBD    STATES    OF    AMERICA 


INDEX 


Abbot,  Edith,  cited,  i6 
Abbot,  Grace,  cited,  421 
Abbot,  Lyman,  cited,  401 
Adams,  Brooks,  on  social  revolu- 
tions, 429 
Adams,  Henry,  cited,  45,  443 
Adams,  H.  C,  on  sphere  of  state, 

335' 
Addams,  Jane,  on  pacifism,  260; 

on  democracy,  427 
Administration,  See  Executive 
Agriculture,  relation  to  political 

problems,  18  et  seq. 
American  Economic  Assn.,  334, 

414 
American  Historical  Assn.,  374 
American  Political  Science  Assn., 

374 
American   Social   Science  Assn., 

374 
American    Society    International 

Law,  374 
American  Statistical  Assn.,  374 
American    Sociological    Society, 

374 
Amidon,    Judge,    on    amending 

constitution,  220 
Anarchism,  in  U.  S.,  358 
Aristocracy,  in  industry,  51 
Australian  ballot,  278 

Baldwin,  J.  M.,  cited,  422 
Barnes,   Wm.,  on  individualism, 

319 
Beard,  C.  A.,  cited,  221,  396,  428 
Beecher,  H.  W.,  cited,  59 
Bellamy,        Edw.,       collectivist, 

plan,  354,  436 


Bemis,  E.  W.,  on  public  owner- 
ship, 342 

Berger,  V.,  cited,  353 

Blythe,  S.,  cited,  439 

Boas,  F.,  cited,  421 

Boss  rule,  theory  of,  300  et  seq. 

Brewer,  Justice,  cited,  147 

Brooks,  J.  G.,  cited,  401 

Brooks,  R.  C.,  on  party  system, 
300 

Bryan,  W.  J.,  on  plutocracy,  60; 
on  imperialism,  250;  on  social- 
ism,  340 

Bruere,  H.,  cited,  396 

Burgess,  J.  W.,  on  judiciary, 
155;  nationalism,  234;  constitu- 
tional amendment,  218;  state 
interference,  321;  theory  an- 
alysed, 379  et  seq. 

Business,  rise  of,  17;  new  type 
of,  24  et  seq.;  rule  of,  25  et 
seq. 

Butler,  N.  M.,  on  recall,  123; 
on  constitutional  amendment, 
223 ;  on  individualism,  320 

Capitalism  and  democracy,  8-9 
Carnegie,   A.,   on   individualism, 

322 
Carter,  J.  C,  theory  of  law,  169; 

opposition  to  codification,  200 
Catholicism   and   social   reform, 

347 
Catt,  Mrs.  C.  C,  on  suffrage,  89 
Church  and  state,  33 
Churchill,    W.,    on    democracy, 

439 
Cities,  See  Urbanism 
475 


476 


INDEX 


Civic  Federation,  50 

Clark,  J.  B.,  cited,  414 

Clearwater,  Judge,  on  individual- 
ism, 319 

Cleveland,  F.  A.,  cited,  396 

Codification,  struggle  over,  199 
et  seq. 

Conservatism,  early  form  of,  51 ; 
systematic  defence   of,   53 

Constitution,  birth  of,  212;  rigid 
interpretation  of,  213;  organic 
theory  of,  215 ;  amendment  of, 
218  et  seq.;  See  also  Judiciary, 
Nationalism 

Cooley,  Judge,  cited,  143 

Cooley,  C.  H.,  analysis  of  de- 
mocracy, 410 

Corporations,  early  protests 
against,  15 ;  rise  to  power,  24 

Corrupt  Practices  Acts,  287 

Crawford,  M.,  cited,  437 

Croly,  H.,  on  character  of  con- 
stitution, 222 ;  on  nationalism 
and  democracy,  235 ;  plan  for 
reorganization  of  state,  238; 
sphere  of  government,  338; 
theory  analysed,  402 

Curtis,  G.  W.,  advocacy  of  merit 
system,  275 


Darwin,  C,  influence  on  political 
science,  371 

Debs,  E.,  cited,  353,  357 

Dcpew,  C.  M.,  cited,  295 

Dewey,  John,  nature  of  democ- 
racy, 424;  democracy  and  edu- 
cation, 426 

Dillon,  Judge,  on  judicial  power, 

155 
Direct  Primary,  See  Primaries 
"Dooley,    Mr."    (Dunne),    cited, 

445 
Du  Bois,  quoted,  79 
Dunning,  W.  A.,  cited,  394 


'Economic  Interpretation  of  His- 
tory, See  Beard,  Myers,  Si- 
mone,  Seligman 

Education,  influence  of,  32;  as 
test  for  suffrage,  97;  relation 
to  democracy,  426 

Eliot,  C.  W.,  cited,  401 

Ely,  R.  T.,  on  church  and  indus- 
try, 345  ;  as  pioneer,  414 

English  influence  on  American 
political  thought,  466 

Equality,  See  Suffrage,  Judiciary 

Executive,  development  of,  127 
et  seq. 

Fay,  C.  N.,  on  political  corrup- 
tion, 303 
Fairlie,   J.    A.,   on   city   govern- 
ment, 396 
Federalist,       on      constitutional 

guarantees,  227 
Feminism,  See  Suffrage 
Field,  D.  D.,  advocate  of  codifi- 
cation, 199 
Field,  Justice,  cited,  162 
Finance,  public,  study  of,  419 
Ford,  P.  L.,  on  the  "boss,"  437 
Ford,  H.  J.,  criticism  of  direct 
primaries,     283;     theory     an- 
alysed, 394 
Foster,  J.  W.,  cited,  398 
France,    influence    on    America, 

464 
Freund,  Ernst,  on  police  power, 
165,  393;  on  common  law,  168; 
on  constitutional  interpreta- 
tion, 177;  on  principles  of  leg- 
islation, 393 


Garner,  J.  W.,  on  sphere  of 
state,  2>Z7',  on  systematic  poli- 
tics, 388 

German  influence  on  America, 
465 


INDEX 


477 


George,  H.,  tax  theory,  42 ;  cited, 

413 

Gettell,  cited,  388 

Giddings,  F.  H.,  on  imperialism, 
252;    on   methodology,  407 

Gilman,  C.  P.  S.,  on  suffrage,  87 

Godkin,  E.  L.,  on  democracy,  399 

Goldman,  Emma,  on  anarchism, 
360 

Gompers,  Samuel,  statement  of 
position,  64  et  seq. 

Goodnow,  F.  J.,  on  separation  of 
powers,  141 ;  due  process  of 
law,  162;  on  force  of  prece- 
dent, 179;  on  need  of  flexibil- 
ity of  constitutions,  222;  on 
party  system,  291 ;  analysis  of 
theory,  389  et  seq. 

Granger  cases,  cited,  150 

Greenback  Party,  39 

Hadley,  A.  T.,  on  property  and 

constitution,  226;  cited,  401 
Hay,  John,  on  labor,  443 
Haywood,    W.,    on    syndicalism, 

363 

Henderson,  C.  R.,  on  Spencer, 
333;  on  church  and  society, 
345;  cited,  412 

Hereditary  caste,  absence  of,  30 

Herrick,    R.,   cited,   441 

Hill,  D.  B.,  veto  of  Australian 
ballot  law,  279 

Hill,  D.  J.,  cited,  398 

Hillis,  N.  D.,  on  church  and  so- 
ciety, 346 

Hillquit,  M.,  on  Socialism,  353 

History,  study  of,  428  et  seq. 

Hoar,  Senator,  opposition  to  di- 
rect election  senators,  115 

Holmes,  Justice,  on  legal  logic, 
173  et  seq. ;  on  social  theory  of 
courts,   175 

Home  rule,  in  cities,  241  et  seq. 

Howe,  F.  C,  cited,  243,  342,  396 


Howells,  W.  D.,  on  socialistic 
Altruria,  437 

Hughes,  C.  E.,  cited,  44,  282 

Hunter,  R.,  cited,  353 

Hurd,  J.  C.,  theory  of  sover- 
eignty, 216 

Husslein,  Father,  on  church  and 
democracy,  348 

Immigration,     growth     of,     11; 

study   of,  420 
Imperialism,    criticism    of,    251; 

defense  of,  252 
Independency,  defense  of,  280 
Individualism,  theory  of,  314  et 

seq. 
Industrialism.     See  Labor 
I.  W.  W.     See  Syndicalism 
Ingalls,    Sen.,    cynical    view    of 

politics,   304 
Initiative,  referendum,  recall ;  de- 
velopment of,  103  et  seq. ;  ad- 
vocacy  of,    119;    criticism   of, 
123 ;  in  cities,  246 
International  law,  study  of,  398 
Invisible  government,  296 
Italian  influence  on  America,  468 


Jacksonian  democracy,  37 
Jacobi,  Dr.  Mary,  on  suffrage,  88 
James,  W.,  on  war,  260;  on  prag- 
matism, 422 
James,  E.  J.,  on  sphere  of  state, 

335 
Jameson,  J.  F.,  on  history,  428 
Jeffersonian  democracy,  36 
Jenks,  J.  W.,  cited,  421 
Johnson,     Sen.,     on     recall     of 

judges,  191 
Jordan,  D.   S.,   on   war,  259 
Judaism    and    social    movement, 

349 
Judiciary,    problems    of,    152    et 
seq;  criticism  of,  176  et  seq.; 


478 


INDEX 


responsibility  to  people,  187  et 
seq. ;  demand  for  reorganiza- 
tion of,  201  et  seq. 

Kales,  A.,  on  suffrage  limitation, 

99 
Keedy,    on   legal   traditionalism, 

184 
Kelly,  E.,  on  socialism,  353 

Labor,    early    struggle    for    or- 
ganization,   15 ;    rise   of   labor 
group,   20   et    seq. ;    theory   of 
trade-unionism,  350 
La   Follette,    R.    M.,    as    liberal 
leader,  61 ;  plan  for  amending 
constitution,     222;     on    direct 
primaries,  282 
Laissez  faire.  See  Individualism 
Langdell,  C.  C,  legal  pedagogy 

of,  i8s 
Laski,  H.  J.,  on  sovereignty,  404 
Laughlin,  J.  L.,  cited,  414 
Lecky,   W.    E,   H,,   criticism   of 

democracy,   6 
Lee,    G.    S.,    defence    of    indus- 
trial leaders,  443 
Legal    profession,    position    of, 

146 
Legislation,    direct.     See    Initia- 
tive 
Legislatures,   decline   of,    107  et 
seq. ;   constructive   policies   re- 
garding,   no  et    seq. 
Liberalism,  modern  development 
of,  3   et  seq. ;   American  ten- 
dencies, 57  et  seq. 
Liberty,  as  construed  by  courts, 
159  et  seq. ;   also  Government 
and  Liberty,  Ch.  XI-XII 
Lieber,  Francis,  cited,  373 
Lincoln,   Abraham,   on  the  con- 
stitution,   215;    as    representa- 
tive of  American  ideals,  473 
Lindsey,  B.  B.,  cited,  438 


Lindsey,  V.,  cited,  447 
Lippman,    W.,    sphere    of    state, 

339;  theory  analysed  403 
Lloyd,  H.  D.,  political  theory  of, 

400 
London,  Jack,  on  socialism,  442 
Lowell,   A.    L.,   on   referendum, 

126;   on  constitution,   221;   on 

party  system,  299 
Lowell,  J.  R.,  on  independency, 

280;    defence    of    democracy, 

433 
Lush,  C.  K.,  cited,  439 

Machine,  political.     See  Political 

Parties 
Macy,  J.,  on  party  systems,  298 
Mahan,  Capt.,  on  War,  266 
Maine,   Sir   Henry,   criticism  of 

democracy,  6 
Markham,  Edw.,  cited,  447 
Marx,  Karl,  theory  of,  371 ;  in- 
fluence in  U.  S.,  466 
Masters,  E.  L.,  cited,  447 
Ma'tthews,    S.,    on    church    and 
society,   345 ;   social  mind  and 
theology,  412 
Mayo- Smith,  R.,  on  immigration, 

420 
McBain,  H.  L.,  on  city  govern- 
ment, 396 
McLaughlin,    A.    C,    on    party 

system,  298 
Mead,  G.  H.,  cited,  423 
Merit  system,  rise  of,  133 
Meyer,  H.,  cited,  342 
Militarism,  absence  of,  30 
Miller,  Kelly,  on  negro  suffrage, 

79 
Mobility  of  occupation,  31 
Moore,   A.   W.,   on   pragmatism, 

423 
Moore,  J.  B.,  cited,  398 
Moody,   W.   v.,   cited,   447 
Morgan,  L.  H.,  studies  cited,  421 


INDEX 


479 


Mulford,  E.,  on  nation,  373 
Munro,    W.    B.,    on   cities,    396- 

397 
Myers,  G.,  on  courts,  177 

National  Association  Manufact- 
urers, 317  et  seq. 

National  Economic  League,  re- 
port on  courts,  203 

Nationalism,  rise  of,  231  et  seq.; 
organic  theory  of,  233;  new 
theories  of,  234  et  seq. 

Natural  rights,  Woolsey  on,  378; 
Burgess  on,  379;  Willoughby 
on,  387;  Veblen  on,  416 

Nearing,  S.,  cited,  353 

New  York  State  Library,  376 

Pacifism,  254  et  seq. 

Parry,  D.  M.,  literary  critique  of 

socialism,  444 
Parsons,  P.,  cited,  342 
Parties,  political,  269  et  seq. 
Party  organization,  284 
Patten,   S.   N.,  theory  of  social 

forces,  411 
Peabody,  F.  W.,  on  church  and 

society,  346 
Phelps,   E.  J.,   on  constitutional 

discussion,  218 
Phillips,   W.,  criticism  of  merit 

system,  277 
Plutocracy,  Taft  on,  26;  Bryan 

on,  60 
Poetry,     American     and     social 

problems,  446  et   seq. 
Police    power,    development    by 

courts,    164  et   seq.;   Freund's 

theory  of,  165,  393 
Poole,  Ernest,  cited,  441 
Populist  Party,  48 
Post,  L.  F.,  defence  of  Austral- 
ian ballot,  279 
Pound,   Roscoe,  on  socialization 

of  private  law,  167;  on  socio- 


logical jurisprudence,  179  et 
seq. 

Pragmatism,  423 

Primaries,  281  et  seq. ;  direct  pri- 
maries, 281 ;  criticism  of,  283 

Progressive  movement,  See  Lib- 
eralism. 

Property,  as  qualification  for  suf- 
frage, 98 

Public  ownership,  341  et  seq. 

"Public  purpose,"  construed  ju- 
dicially, 166 


Rauschenbusch,   on  church  and 

society,  345 
Recall  of  judges,  theory  of,  187 

et  seq.;  opposition  to,  194 
"Reform,"    political,   44;    moral, 

344 

Research.  See  Systematic  Poli- 
tics 

Reinsch,  P.   S.,  cited,  398 

Representation,  proportional, 
early  forms  of,  116;  later  de- 
velopment,  117 

Representative  government.  See 
Legislatures 

Robinson,  J.  H.,  on  history,  428 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  recall  of 
judicial  decisions,  189;  on  na- 
tionalism, 236,  385;  on  war, 
267;  on  party  system,  293;  on 
extension  of  governmental  ac- 
tivities, 339,  386 

Ross,  E.  A.,  theory  of  social 
control,  408 

Root,  Elihu,  on  initiative  and  ref- 
erendum, 125;  on  recall  of 
judges,  195;  on  technicalities 
of  law,  202;  on  constitutional 
change,  224;  on  party  system, 
294;  on  political  corruption, 
304;  on  state  activity,  323 

Rowe,  L.  S.,  cited,  396 


48o 


INDEX 


Royce,   J.,   cited,   79,  422 
Russell,   C.   E.,  cited,  353 
Russian  influence  in  U.   S.,  468 
Rural  government,  Jeflferson  on, 

229;  later  development,  248 
Ryan,    Father,    on   living   wage, 

348 


Sandberg,  C,  cited,  447 

Schurz,  C,  on  imperialism,  251 

Seligman,  E.  R.  A.,  on  taxation, 
420;  on  history,  428 

Semple,  Ellen,  on  history  and 
geography,  428 

Senate,  U.  S.,  direct  election,  114 
ct  seq. 

Separation  of  powers  of  govern- 
ment, decline  of  doctrine  in 
early  form,  140;  defense  of 
143  et  seq.;  abandonment  in 
cities,  245 

Shaler,  N.  S.,  citied,  401 

Shaw,  Albert,  on  city  govern- 
ment, 396 

Short  ballot,  theory  of,  100  et 
seq. ;  opposition  to,  102  et  seq. 

Simons,    A.    M.,   cited,    353 

Sinclair,  U.,  cited,  442 

Small,  A.  W.,  methodology,  407 ; 
theory  of  capitalism  in  democ- 
racy, 408 

Smith,  J.  A.,  on  constitution, 
221 

Sovereignty,  HTurd's  doctrine, 
216;  Burgess  on,  380;  Wil- 
loughby  on,  387 

Spargo,  J.,  on  socialism,  353 

Spencer,  H.,  modern  exposition 
of,  321 ;  visit  to  America,  324 

Socialism,  early  forms  of,  66; 
development  and  theory  of, 
351  et  seq. 

Social  politics,  rise  of,  326  et 
seq. 


Sociocracy,  Ward's  theory  of, 
406 

Spoils  system,  rise  of,  271 ;  crit- 
icism of,  274;  defense  of,  276, 
300 

State  (government,)  sphere  of 
activity,  310  et  seq. 

States,  criticised  by  Burgess, 
234;  defense  by  Wilson,  239 

Steffens,  L.,  on  party  boss,  297; 
on  democracy,  438 

Suffrage,  theory  of  colored  suf- 
frage, 72  et  seq.;  argument 
against,  74  et  seq. ;  theory  of 
disfranchisement,  72  et  seq. ; 
opposition  to  disfranchisement, 
79  et  seq. 

Suffrage,  Woman's,  advance  of, 
82;  Wendell  Phillips  on,  83; 
Curtis  on,  83;  general  theory 
of,  83  et  seq.;  opposition  the- 
ory, 90  et  seq. 

Sumner,  W.  S.,  on  individualism, 
316;  on  sociology,  414 

Sjmdicalism,  appearance  of,  68; 
theory  of,  362  et  seq. 

Systematic  Politics,  nature  and 
forms  of,  370  et  seq, 

Taft,  W.  H.,  on  initiative  and 
referendum,  126 ;  on  recall  of 
judges,  196;  on  reform  of 
criminal  procedure,  204 

Taylor,  G.,  on  church  and  so- 
ciety, 345 

Thayer,  J.  B.,  cited,   172 

Thomas,  W.  I.,  cited,  421 

Thompson,  D.  G.,  defense  of 
Tammany,  301 

Tolstoi,  Count,  influence  of, 
468 

Triggs,  O.  L.,  cited,  446 

Tucker,  B.,  theory  of  anarchism, 
361 

Tufts,  J.  H.,  cited,  423 


INDEX 


481 


Turner,  F.  J.,  on  history,  428 
Twain,     Mark,    on     democracy, 
446 

Unofficial  government,  305  et 
seq. 

Urbanism,  growth  of,  10;  in- 
terest in,  241 ;  typical  develop- 
ments of,  247 

U'Ren,  cited,  238 

Van  Dyke,  H.,  cited,  40 

Veblen,  T.,  on  nature  of  peace, 
264;  on  natural  rights,  415;  on 
business  and  politics,  416;  on 
machine  process  and  civiliza- 
tion, 417 

Walker,  Gen.,  on  sphere  of 
State,  334;  cited,  414 

Walling,  W.,  on  socialism,  353 

Ward,  L.  F.,  on  woman  suffrage, 
87;  criticism  of  Spencer's 
laissez  faire  theory,  333;  the- 
ory analysed,  406 

Washington,  B.,  views  on  suf- 
frage, 80  et  seq. 

Wealth,  distribution  of,  in  U.  S., 

13 

Wells,  D.  A.,  cited,  315 

Weyl,  W.,  plutocracy  and  de- 
mocracy, 404 


White,   W.   A.,   cited,   441 

Whitlock,  B.,  cited,  438 

Whitman,  Walt,  theory  of  de- 
mocracy, 434  et  seq. 

Wigmore,  J.  H.,  on  judicial 
proof,  184;  on  Australian  bal- 
lot, 279 

Wilcox,  D.  F.,  on  recall  of 
judges,  191 

Willoughby,  W.  W.,  on  sphere 
of  State,  336;  systematic  the- 
ory analysed,  387  et  seq. 

Wilson,   G.  G.,  cited,  398 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  on  Jefferson- 
ian  democracy,  62;  on  short 
ballot,  loi ;  on  initiative  and 
referendum,  121 ;  on  separa- 
tion of  powers,  142;  on  recall 
of  judges,  197;  on  origin  of 
constitution,  221 ;  on  function 
of  States,  239;  on  party  sys- 
tem, 292;  on  function  of  gov- 
ernment, 336,  340;  on  Con- 
gress, 381 ;  analysis  of  syste- 
matic theory,  381 

Winslow,  Judge,  cited,  175 

Woods,  A.  H.,  cited,  421 

Woolsey,  T.,  on  separation  of 
powers,  143;  on  governmental 
functions,  332;  analysis  of 
systematic  theory,   377 

Zueblin,  C,  cited,  342,  446 


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